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SAN  DIEGO  DE  ALCALA,  O.  F.  M. 
(Saint  Didacus.) 


The  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


New  Series.  Local  History 


SAN  DIEGO  MISSION 


BY 

Fr.  ZEPHYRIN  ENGELHARDT,  O.  F.  M. 

Author  of  “ Missions  and  Missionaries “Franciscans  in  California 
“Franciscans  in  Arizona “ Holy  Man  of  Santa  Clara,”  Etc. 


“Colligite  quae  superaoerunt  Jragmenta , 
ne  pereant.,>  Joan,  vi,  12 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


SAM  FRAMCISCO,  CAL. 

THE  JAMES  H.  BARRY  COMPANY 


Jmjirimi  (HmtrrhUitr 

FR.  HUGOLINUS  STORFF,  O.  F.  M., 

Minister  Provincialis 


NtfjU  QDbstat 

REV.  J.  M.  BYRNE, 

Censor  Deputatus 


Jmprimt  Jpotrst 

PATRITIUS  L.  RYAN, 

Vicarius  Generalis, 

Sancti  Francisci,  Cal. 


1^5541 


COPYRIGHT,  1920 
BY 


ZEPHlrRIN  ENGELHARDT 


PREFACE 


California,  in  the  early  days,  was  divided  into  four  mili- 
tary districts.  The  headquarters  or  garrisons  were  located 
at  San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara,  Monterey,  and  San  Francisco, 
respectively.  These  military  posts  provided  the  guards  for 
the  Missions  situated  within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction. 
The  military  district  of  San  Diego  embraced  the  Missions 
of  San  Diego,  San  Luis  Rey,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  San 
Gabriel,  of  which  the  City  of  Los  Angeles  in  spiritual  mat- 
ters was  a dependency.  Although  independent  of  one  an- 
other, a sort  of  union  or  connection  existed  among  the 
Missions  of  the  district.  This  suggested  the  geographical 
rather  than  the  chronological  order  in  relating  the  local  his- 
tory of  the  twenty-one  Missions. 

Like  the  author’s  General  History  on  the  Missions,  this 
Local  Account  is  almost  entirely  compiled  from  the  docu- 
mentary sources  enumerated  and  qualified  in  the  Introduc- 
tion to  his  second  volume  of  The  Missions  and  Missionaries 
of  California.  Numerous  other  works  on  the  subject  have 
been  published,  but  they  generally  reveal  the  mind  of  the 
writers  rather  than  historical  facts.  As  a rule,  such  scribes 
never  saw  a Spanish  document,  nor  would  they  know  how 
to  use  it  if  they  happened  to  see  one.  Hence  their  produc- 
tions on  California  abound  in  such  glaring  errors  and  even 
wilful  misstatements  as  to  be  of  .little  or  no  use  to  the  author 
whose  sole  aim  is  to  present  complete  and  accurate  informa- 
tion. The  reader  may  confidently  rely  on  the  statements 
made  in  this  work,  since  they  are  based  on  official  docu- 
ments and  other  trustworthy  authorities.  Scrupulous  care 
has  been  exercised  to  insure  accurate  figures,  notably  in  the 
Tables  compiled  from  the  Annual  and  Biennial  Reports  of 
the  missionaries. 

Mission  San  Diego,  being  the  first  in  point  of  time,  natu- 
rally requires  more  space  for  its  history  than  the  other 


VI 


Preface 


missionary  establishments  of  the  district.  In  many  ways  it 
is  typical  of  them  all.  Large  portions,  therefore,  such  as 
detailed  reports,  all  that  concerns  the  presidio  and  harbor 
of  San  Diego,  etc.,  need  not  be  repeated  in  subsequent  vol- 
umes. The  costly  reproduction  of  inventories,  like  the  one 
relegated  to  the  end  of  the  book,  will  also  be  unnecessary. 
In  this  case  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  present  it  entire 
in  the  original  so  that  the  reader  may  see  at  a glance,  so 
to  speak,  what  many  words  could  not  demonstrate  so  effect- 
ively— the  difference  between  the  management  of  unselfish 
missionaries  and  that  of  hired  administrators. 

The  author  cordially  acknowledges  himself  indebted  and 
herewith  renders  thanks  to  his  assistant,  the  Rev.  Fr.  Francis 
Borgia  Steck,  O.  F.  M.,  for  helping  to  revise  and  prepare 
the  manuscript  for  the  printer;  to  the  Rev.  Fr.  Paul  Meyer, 
O.  F.  M.,  for  sorting  and  arranging  the  vast  documentary 
material  collected;  to  the  Rev.  Fr.  Valentine  Dorenkemper, 
O.  F.  M.,  for  translations  from  the  French  and  the  Italian; 
to  . the  Rev.  St.  John  O’Sullivan  for  the  genuine  charity 
and  hospitality  repeatedly  experienced  at  Old  Mission  San 
Juan  Capistrano;  to  the  successive  Rev.  Secretaries  of  the 
Diocesan  Chancery,  Los  Angeles;  to  Hon.  Grant  Jackson 
of  Los  Angeles  and  to  Mr.  Charles  B.  Turrill  of  San  Fran- 
cisco for  the  use  of  many  rare  old  engravings ; and  to  all 
other  friends  who  by  word  and  deed  encouraged  and  facili- 
tated his  labors  in  the  interest  of  historical  truth. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


Page 


Discovery  of  Harbor  by  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo. — The  Indians. — 

Pilot  Perrelo. — Spanish  Intrepidity. — Harbor  Rediscovered  by 
Sebastian  V’sca’no. — Harbor  Named. — Don  Jose  de  Galvez’s  Ex- 
peditions.— The  San  Antonio  and  the  San  Carlos  Arrive. — Their 
Disastrous  Voyage.  — Many  Succumb  to  Hardships.  — Captain 
Vila’s  Narrative. — Arrival  of  First  Land  Expedition. — Fr.  Juan 
-Crespi’s  Interesting  Letter. — The  Second  Land  Expedition 
Arrives. — Fr.  Junipero  Serra ’s  Letter.  . . . . 3 , 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  San  Antonio  Returns  to  San  Bias. — Portola  Sets  Out  for 
Monterey  Bay. — Founding  of  Mission  San  Diego. — Greed  of 
Indians. — Their  Aversion  for  Spanish  Food. — Savages  Attack 
the  Mission.  — Bravery  of  the  Blacksmith.  — Savages  Receive 
Their  First  Lesson. — Casualties  among  the  S oan’ards. — Charm- 
ing Incident.  — Friendly  Youth.  — Frustrated  Baptism.  — Dr. 
Prat’s  Devotion  to  the  Sick. — Portola  Returns  from  the  North. — 

He  Determines  to  Abandon  San  Diego.— Fr.  Serra ’s  Resolu- 
tion.— Captain  Vila  Agrees  with  Fr.  Presidente. — Fr.  Serra 
Notifies  Fr.  Palou. — He  Proposes  a Novena. — His  Anxiety. — 

The  Feast  of  St.  Joseph. — The-  Ship!  the  Ship! — California 
Saved. — The  San  Antonio  Arrives. — Fr.  Serra  to  Fr.  Palou. — 
Expeditions  to  Monterey  Bay. — Found  at  Last. — -Heroic  Cap- 
tain Vila  Sails  and  Dies. — Arrival  of  Ten  Franc:scans. — 
Rivera  Brings  Up  the  Cattle. — Soldiers  Desert. — Fr.  Paterna 
Induces  Them  to  Return.  ........  23 

CHAPTER  III. 

Privation  of  Missionaries. — The  Dearth  of  Provisions  at  All  Mis- 
sions.— Transports  Arrive. — Governor  Fages ’s  Interference. — Fr. 
Serra  Goes  to  Mexico. — Successful. — He  Returns. — San  Diego  a 
Presidio. — Fr.  Palou  and  Other  Fathers  Arrive. — His  Letter. — 
First  Neophyte  Woman  Arrives  from  Lower  California. — She 
Teaches  Dressmaking. — Fr.  Palou  Goes  North. — The  Albador. — 
First  Report. — The  Mission. — The  Indians. — The  Presidio. — The 
Country. — Live  Stock. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Report. — Removal  of  Mission 


Vlll 


Contents 


Page 

Proposed. — Dispute. — Pr.  Serra ’s  Representation. — Fr.  Jaume  ’s 
Letter. — Proposes  Removal  of  Mission. — The  New  Mission. — Fr. 
Serra ’s  Description.  .........  42 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Dark  Days  Approaching. — Fr.  Palou ’s  Account. — Conspiracy. — 
Mission  Attacked  and  Fired.  — The  Battle.  — Casualties.  - — Fr. 
Jayme  Murdered. — Fr.  Fuster ’s  Heroism. — Bravery  of  the  Sol- 
diers.— A Vow. — Neglectful  Sentinels. — Body  of  Fr.  Jayme  Dis- 
covered.— Burial  at  Presidio. — Fr.  Serra  and  Captain  Rivera 
Notified. — Fr.  Serra  Pleads  with  Viceroy  for  the  Conspirators. 

— Captain  J.  B.  Anza. — Account  of  the  Disaster  by  Fr.  Pedro 
Font,  O.  F.  M. — Anza  and  Fr.  Font  Depart. — Indian  Takes 
Refuge  in  Church. — Rivera  Drags  Indian  from  Church. — The 
Fathers  Protest.  — Rivera  Declared  Excommunicated.  — Church 
Asylum. — Fr.  Serra  at  San  Diego. — Noble  Captain  Choquet. — 
Rebuilding  of  the  Mission  Begun. — Rivera ’s  Duplicity. — Choquet 
Indignant. — Gloom. — Letter  from  Viceroy  Bucareli. — Fr.  Serra 
Happy. — Mission  Restored. — Indian  Revolters  Released.  . . 59 

CHAPTER  V. 

Condition  of  Mission  Registers. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Nota  Previa. — Fr. 
Fuster ’s  Note. — Fr.  Fuster ’s  First  Annual  Report. — Statistics. 

— Report  for  1777  by  FF.  Lasuen  and  Figuer. — Savages  Plot- 
ting.— Battle. — Prisoners. — Fr.  Serra  ’s  Letters. — Lack  of  Grain. 

— The  Fr.  Presidente  Confirming  at  San  Diego. — Scanty  Grain 
for  Planting. — The  Fathers  All  to  All.  . . . . .83 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Discouraging  Situation.  — Fr.  Guardian’s  Consoling  Letter.  — Fr. 
Serra  to  Fr.  Lasuen. — Fr.  Lasuen ’s  Lament. — Neve’s  Stupid 
Demand. — Its  Disastrous  Result. — Fr.  Lasuen ’s  Instructions  on 
the  Subject. — FF.  Lasuen  and  Figuer  Report  on  the  Mission. — 

New  Church.  — Cemetery.  — Church  Goods.  — Report  of  1783. — 
Building  Activities. — Agriculture. — Financial  Contributions. — Fr. 
Serra ’s  Newsy  Letter. — Fr.  Lasuen  to  Fr.  Serra  on  Condition 
of  the  Mission. — Lt.  Ortega  Transferred  to  Santa  Barbara. — 

San  Diego  Presidio. — Fr.  Serra’s  Last  Visit. — He  Administers 
Confirmation. — He  Bids  Farewell. — Gov.  Fages ’s  Report. — Erro- 
neous Statement.  .........  101 


Contents 


IX 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Page 

Unworldly  Missionaries. — Mission  Hospitality. — First  Converts. — 
Obstacles  to  Conversion.  — Baptismal  Entries.  — Methods  Em- 
ployed.— The  Doctrina  Christiana. — Divine  Services. — The  Our 
Father  in  Indian. — Sick  Calls. — Specimen  Baptismal  Entry. — 
Sponsors. — Marriage  Entries. — Some  Mission  Stations. — Some 
Marriages  at  the  Presidio. — Fr.  Serra ’s  First  Confirmation 
Visit. — Burial  of  Fr.  Juan  Figuer 124 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Reports  Demanded.  — Cemeteries.  — Mechanical  Arts.  — Statistics. — 
School  at  Presidio. — Banner  Year  at  Mission. — Building  Activi- 
ties.— Grapevines. — Elections. — Dissatisfied  Indians. — Troubles  of 
Fr.  Panella  and  Fr.  Mariner. — Buildings. — -Dominicans. — Death 
of  Fr.  Juan  Mariner. — Grapevines. — Earthquake. — Furious  In- 
dian.— His  Punishment. — Transfer  of  Bodies  of  Deceased  Mis- 
sionaries.— Death  of  Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro. — Mission  Aqueduct. — 
Smythe’s  View. — New  Church  Begun. — Dedication. — Specimen  of 
Sectarian  Gullibility. — Death  of  Fr.  Pedro  Panto. — Poisoned  by 
Cook. — Fr.  Tapis  on  the  Subject. — Arrillaga  on  the  Friars. — 

The  Aqueduct. — Infirmary. — Church  Goods. — Santa  Isabel. — Dif- 
ficulties.— Chapel  Erected.  — Dedication. — Numerous  Baptisms. — 
Present  Condition.  .........  145 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Vancouver  Arrives.  — His  Observations.  — Fr.  Lasuen.  — The  Sol- 
diers.— Labor  not  Dishonorable. — The  Presidio. — Fort  at  Point 
Guijarros.  — Death  of  Lt.  Grajera.  — Presidio  Force.  — Popula- 
tion.— Officials. — Dispensation  from  Abstinence. — Interrogatorio  y 
Bespuesta. — Character  and  Habits  of  the  Indians. — Murders.— * 
Punishments.  — Horse-stealing.  — Its  Punishment. — Methods  True 
and  False  for  Securing  Converts. — Smythe’s  Foolish  Charge. — 
Unjust  Demands  on  the  Missions.  — More  Absurdities  from 
Smythe. — The  Franciscans. — More  Demands  on  the  Mission. — 
Crops. — Population. — Contributions  Apportioned.  . . .171 

CHAPTER  X. 

Cash  Demands  on  the  Mission. — Mission  not  Wealthy. — Governor 
Echeandia.  — Heroism  of  the  Missionaries.  — Glad  to  Leave. — 
Their  Zeal. — FF.  Payeras  and  Sanchez  in  Search  of  New  Mis- 
sion Sites. — Route. — Corn  Planted  at  Santa  Isabel. — Report  on 
Location  and  State  of  Mission. — Mexican  Independence. — Rev. 


X 


Contents 


Page 

Vicente  Fernandez. — Arrival  of  Governor  Echeandia. — Fathers 
Decline  to  Take  New  Oath  of  Allegiance. — Reasons. — Greed 
Awakened. — Missions  Needed  by  the  Government. — Land  Grants 
to  Neophytes. — Schools. — Smythe ’s  Calumny. — First  Schools  in 
America.  - — First  Manual  Training  Schools  in  California. — 
Smythe ’s  Ignorance.  — Demands  on  the  Mission  Continue. — 
Neophyte  Establishes  Home  for  Himself. — Indians  at  Santa 
Isabel  and  Santa  Monica  Cared  For 194 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Change  of  Commander  at  Presidio. — Visit  of  Duhaut  Cilly. — 
Robinson’s  Visit. — James  Pattie’s  Visit  and  False  Statements. — 
Extent  of  Mission  Lands. — Live  Stock. — Fr.  Menendez,  O.  F.  M., 
Chaplain  at  Presidio. — Echeandia ’s  High-handed  Dealing. — Cele- 
bration on  Election  of  Pope  Leo  XII. — Indian  Land  Coveted. — 
Missionaries  Resist  Strenuously. — Mission  Ranchos. — Change  in 
Government. — Victoria  Arrives. — Pio  Pico  and  Clique. — Revolt 
Against  Governor  Victoria. — He  Resigns. — Embarks  at  San 
Diego. — New  Governor. — Echeandia ’s  Trickery. — FF.  Martin  and 
Oliva  to  Echeandia. — Mission  Reports  Cease. — Confiscation  De- 
creed.— Figueroa  at  San  Diego. — Neophytes  Decline  Freedom. — 

San  Dieguito. — Fr.  Duran  at  the  Mission. — Warns  Figueroa. — 
Mission  Confiscated. — Inventories.  ......  215 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Death  of  Fr.  Fernando  Martin. — Salaries. — Fr.  Oliva  Defends 
Indian  Rights. — Santa  Isabel. — Administrator  Rule. — Inspector 
Hartnell. — His  Melancholy  Report. — Indian  Complaints. — Mis- 
sion Poverty. — Robinson’s  Description. — Bishop  Appointed. — He 
Arrives  at  Sail  Diego. — He  Confirms  and  Ordains. — Mofras’s 
Description. — Yuma  Indians. — Governor  Manuel  Micheltorena. — 

His  Soldiers. — He  Departs. — Mission  Remnant  Restored  to  Fran- 
ciscans.— Result  of  Administrator  Rule. — Pio  Pico  Governor. — 
Mission  Sold. — Deed  of  Sale. — Smythe ’s  Views. — Unscrupulous 
Pico. — Retribution. — What  Smythe  has  to  Say. — Indian  Raids. 

— Lamentations. — Items  from  Bancroft.  .....  237 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Last  Baptism  at  Mission. — Estudillo  in  Charge. — Last  Francis- 
can.— United  States  Soldiers  at  San  Diego. — General  Kearny 
and  Commodore  Stockton. — Mormon  Battalion.— Pico ’s  Bill  of 
Sale  of  Mission. — Argiiello  Disclaims  Ownership. — Correspond- 


Contents 


xi 


Page 

ence. — Miss  Lorenzana  on  Condition  of  Mission  Goods. — Sacred 
Vessels  Desecrated. — Jose  Estudillo  Resigns. — Colonel  Stevenson 
to  Governor  Mason. — Halleck  to  Stevenson  on  Mission  Prop- 
erty.— Halleck  to  Fr.  Gonzalez  Rubio. — Fr.  Gonzalez  to  Colonel 
Stevenson. — Lt.  Ord’s  Description  of  the  Old  Town  and  Harbor. 

— Mission. — Mission  Goods  Once  More. — Bartlett  on  the  Mis- 
sion.— Archbishop  Alemany’s  Claim  to  Property  Affirmed. — Land 
Grants. — Ranchos  Claimed  and  Granted. — Bartlett’s  Description. 

— The  Camino  Real.  .........  255 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Missionaries  and  Registers. — Numerous  Converts. — Various  Entries. 

— Santa  Isabel. — Fr.  Torrent  Exhausted. — Second  Book  of  Bap- 
tisms.— Tia  Juana. — Santa  Isabel  Again. — Yuma  Children. — 
White  Converts. — Wise  California  Girls. — Marriage  Registers. — 
Indian  Girls. — The  Monjerio. — Courtship. — Marriage  Entries. — 
Cemetery. — Burial  Entries. — Executions. — Second  Book  Lost. — 
Bancroft’s  Agent. — Fr.  Oliva’s  Last  Entries. — Rev.  J.  C.  Hol- 
bein’s Note.  ..........  274 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Smythe’s  Honest  Admission. — Major  McLaughl'n’s  Statement. — 
Mechanical  Arts  at  the  Mission. — Diversions. — Singing. — Music. 

— Agriculture. — Table. — The  Dam. — The  Aqueduct. — Live  Stock. 

— Exaggerations. — Table. — Spiritual  Results* — Table. — Bartlett ’s 
Description  of  Mission. — United  States  Soldiers  Quartered  at 
Mission. — Soledad. — San  Pasqual. — Ford ’s  Description. — Restora- 
tion Plans. — The  Mission  Bells. — What  of  the  Neophytes? — The 
Missionaries. — Their  Aims  and  Vicissitudes. — End.  . . . 292 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Biographical  Sketches.  — Fr.  Francisco  Gomez.  — Fr.  Juan  Viz- 
caino.— Fr.  Luis  Jaume. — Fr.  Juan  Figuer. — Fr.  Juan  Antonio 
Garcia  Riobo  (Rioboo). — Fr.  Juan  Mariner. — Fr.  Hilario  Tor- 
rent.— Fr.  Jose  Panella. — Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro. — Fr.  Jose  Pedro 
Panto. — Fr.  Fernando  Martin. — Resident  and  Visiting  Fathers 
Who  Officiated  at  Mission  San  Diego.  . . . . .312 


APPENDIX 


A.  — San  Diego  de  Alcala.  Biographical  Sketch 

B.  — A Would-be  Historian’s  Unwarranted  Assertion 

C.  — Dr.  Charles  E.  Chapman  and  Fr.  Junipero  Serra 

D.  — William  E.  Smythe’s  Statements  on  Education  Refuted 

E.  — Inventory  of  Mission  San  Diego  of  1834 

F.  — Inventory  of  Mission  San  Diego  of  1848 

G.  — Mission  Lands  Restored  to  Church 

H.  — Rancherlas  of  Mission  San  Diego  .... 

I.  — The  Mythical  Tunnel  of  Mission  San  Diego  . 


Page 

. 328 
. 331 
. 331 
. 332 
. 334 
. 343 
. 344 
. 349 
. 350 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

San  Diego  (St.  Diclacus)  of  Alcala,  O.  F.  M . . Frontispiece 

The  Old  Franciscan  Missions  in  California.  Map  ...  2 

Cabrillo ’s  Ship  ..........  4 

Fr.  Junipero  Serra,  O.  F.  M 20 

Signature  of  Gaspar  de  Portola.  Courtesy  of  Sunset  Magazine 

October,  1909  ..........  32 

Fr.  Junipero  Serra  Gives  Thanks  to  God.  Drawing  by  Alexander 

Harmer,  Santa  Barbara,  California  . . . . .35 

Alabado.  Music  ..........  48 

Martyrdom  of  Fr.  Luis  Jayme,  O.  F.  M.,  by  Alexander  Har- 
mer ............  63 

Captain  Rivera  Violates  Church  Asylum,  by  Alexander  Harmer  . 75 

Title  Page  of  Baptismal  Register.  Facsimile.  Reduced  one- 

third  ............  84 

San  Diego  Mission  in  1886.  Front.  Courtesy  of  Charles  B.  Tur- 

rill,  San  Francisco,  California  . . . . ...  106 

Primitive  Plow.  Drawing  by  A.  B.  Dodge,  Los  Angeles  . .119 

•Entries  in  Baptismal  Register.  Facsimile.  Signatures  of  Fathers 

Serra  and  Figuer 129 

Title  Page  of  Marriage  Register.  Facsimile.  Reduced  one- 

third  ............  141 

San  Diego  Mission  in  184.8,  from  a Painting  ....  152 

Mission  Dam  Two  Leagues  above  Mission.  C.  B.  Turrill  . . 158 

Double  Well  at  the  Mission.  Charles  B.  Turrill  ....  166 

Franciscans  as  They  Came  and  Went.  Alexander  Harmer  . . 190 

Emancipated  Indians  and  Dwelling.  Charles  B.  Turrill  . . 208 

The  Mission  and  Surrounding  Country.  Charles  B.  Turrill  . . 217 

Cattle  Brand  of  the  Mission.  From  California  Archives,  State 

Payers,  Missions,  vol.  vi,  p.  180  223 

Map  of  San  Diego  and  San  Luis  Rey  Mission  District.  From 

H.  H.  Bancroft,  vol.  ii  .......  228 

Mission  Orchard.  C.  B.  Turrill  .......  245 

Front  Door  of  Mission  Church.  C.  B.  Turrill  ....  260 

Chapel  and  Bells  of  Santa  Isabel.  C.  B.  Turrill  ....  268 

Ground  Plan  of  Santa  Isabel  from  U.  S.  Land  Office  . . .276 

Front  of  Mission  San  Diego  Ruins  ......  282 

Tabular  Report  on  Agriculture  ......  294-295 

Spanish  Hymn.  Music  .........  297 


XIV 


Illustrations 


Page 

Tabular  Report  on  Live  Stock  . . . . . . 299 

Tabular  Report  on  Spiritual  Results  .....  300-301 

Mission  Church  Occupied  by  U.  S.  Troops.  C.  B.  Turrill  . . 304 

Mission  Church  and  Front  Wing  from  Courtyard.  C.  B.  Turrill  . 308 

Mission  Ruins  Viewed  from  Rear.  C.  B.  Turrill  . . . .316 

Signatures  of  Franciscan  Fathers  Juan  Riobo,  Juan  Mariner, 
Hilario  Torrent,  Josef  Panella,  Nicolas  Lazaro,  Pedro  Panto, 
Fernando  Martin  ........  319-323 

Ground  Plan  of  Mission  San  Diego  from  U.  S.  Land  Office  . . 330 

Plat  of  Mission  San  Diego  Lands  from  U.  S.  Land  Office  . . 346 


FIRST  MILITARY  DISTRICT 
I 

SAN  DIEGO  MISSION 

(1769  . 1862) 


Jtiver 


CHAPTER  I. 


Discovery  of  Harbor  by  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo. — The  Indians. — 
Pilot  Ferrelo. — Spanish  Intrepidity. — Harbor  Rediscovered  by  Se- 
bastian Vizcaino. — Harbor  Named. — Don  Jose  de  Galvez’s  Expedi- 
tions.— The  San  Antonio  and  the  San  Carlos  Arrive. — Their  Dis- 
astrous Voyage. — Many  Succumb  to  Hardships. — Captain  Vila’s 
Narrative. — Arrival  of  First  Land  Expedition. — Fr.  Juan  Crespi’s 
Interesting  Letter. — The  Second  Land  Expedition  Arrives. — Fr. 
Junipero  Serra’s  Letter. 

HE  far-famed  harbor  of  San  Diego  was  first  discov- 


ered by  Jnan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo,  a Portuguese  navi- 
gator in  the  service  of  Spain,  only  fifty  years  after  Chris- 
topher Columbus  had  planted  the  Cross  on  the  Island  of 
San  Salvador.  Cabrillo  with  the  two  ships  San  Salvador 
and  Victoria  entered  the  bay  on  Thursday  evening,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1542.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  feast  of  St.  Michael, 
the  Archangel,  wherefore  the  commander  christened  the  port 
San  Miguel. 

“Having  cast  anchor  in  it,”  the  Diary  of  the  voyage 
relates,  “the  men  went  ashore  where  there  were  people 
(Indians).  Three  of  these  waited,  but  all  the  rest  fled. 

To  these  three  they  gave  some  presents,  and  they  said  by 
signs  that  in  the  interior  men  like  the  Spaniards  had  passed.1 
They  gave  signs  of  great  fear.  On  the  night  of  this  day, 

they  (the  sailors)  went  ashore  from  the  ships  to  fish  with 

a net ; and  it  appears  that  here  there  were  some  Indians, 
and  that  they  began  to  shoot  at  them  with  arrows  and 

wounded  three  men. 

“Next  day,  in  the  morning,  they  went  with  the  boat  far- 
ther into  the  port,  which  is  large,  and  brought  two  boys, 
who  understood  nothing  by  signs.  They  gave  shirts  to  both 
and  sent  them  away  immediately. 

“Next  day,  in  the  morning,  three  adult  Indians  came  to 

i This  undoubtedly  refers  to  Alarcon ’s  expedition  up  the  Gulf  of 
California.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California , vol.  i,  p.  25. 


4 


M issions  an  d M issionaries  of  California 


the  ships  and  said  by  signs  that  in  the  interior  men  like  us 
were  traveling  about,  bearded,  clothed,  and  armed  like  those 
of  the  ships.  They  made  signs  that  they  carried  crossbows 
and  swords ; and  they  made  gestures  with  the  right  arm 
as  if  they  were  throwing  lances,  and  ran  around  as  if  they 
were  on  horseback.  They  made  signs  that  they  were  kill- 
ing many  native  Indians,  and  that  for  this  reason  they  were 
afraid.  These  people  are  comely  and  large.  They  go  about 
covered  with  skins  of  animals. 


WHAT  CABRILLO’S  SHIP  WAS  LIKE 


“While  they  were  in  this  port  a heavy  storm  occurred ; 
but  since  the  port  is  good,  they  did  not  feel  it  at  all.  It 
was  a violent  storm  from  the  west-southwest  and  south- 
southwest.  This  is  the  first  storm  which  they  have  experi- 
enced. They  remained  in  this  port  until  the  following 
Thursday.  The  people  here  called  the  Christians  Guacamal. 
On  the  following  Tuesday,  October  3,  they  departed  from 
this  Port  of  San  Miguel.’* 

Once  more  the  San  Salvador  ran  into  the  harbor  of  San 
Diego,  this  time  in  charge  of  Pilot  Bartolome  Ferrelo,  since 
its  heroic  commander  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  had  died  on 
the  Island  of  San  Miguel  in  the  Channel  of  Santa  Bar- 
bara. Accordingly,  the  Diary  relates : “On  Sunday,  the 
11th  of  the  said  month  of  March,  they  reached  the  Port 
of  San  Miguel  (San  Diego)  but  did  not  find  the  consort 


Mission  San  Diego 


5 


there,  or  any  news  of  her.  Here  they  waited  six  days ; 
and  here  they  secured  two  boys  to  take  to  New  Spain 
(Mexico)  as  interpreters,  and  left  certain  signals,  in  case 
the  other  ship  should  come  here.  On  Saturday,  the  seven- 
teenth of  the  said  month,  they  left  the  said  port  of  San 
Miguel.”  2 

Of  the  ships  in  which  Cabrillo  ventured  into  these  un- 
known waters,  Professor  George  Davidson,  as  quoted  by 
Professor  Herbert  E.  Bolton,  writes : “These  vessels  were 

smaller  than  any  of  our  coasting  schooners.  They  were 
poorly  built  and  very  badly  outfitted.  Their  anchors  and 
ironwork  were  carried  by  men  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
to  the  Pacific ; they  were  manned  by  conscripts  and  natives ; 
were  badly  provisioned,  and  the  crews  subject  to  that  deadly 
scourge  of  the  sea,  scurvy.”  3 

“Regarding  Cabrillo’s  voyage  as  a feat  of  navigation 
under  distressing  difficulties,”  says  Bolton,  “the  following 
quotation  from  Navarrete  is  apt:  ‘Those  who  know  the  coast 
which  Cabrillo  discovered  and  explored,  the  kind  of  vessels 
in  which  he  undertook  the  expedition,  the  rigorous  season 
during  which  he  pursued  his  voyage  in  those  intemperate 
climes,  and  the  state  of  the  science  of  navigation  at  that 
period,  cannot  help  admiring  a courage  and  intrepidity 
which,  though  common  among  sea-faring  Spaniards  of  that 
time,  cannot  be  appreciated  in  our  day,  when  the  naviga- 
tor is  fairly  dazzled  by  the  assistance  furnished  him  through 
the  wonderful  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  rendering 
his  operations  easier  and  supplying  him  with  advantages 
which,  as  they  were  lacking  to  the  early  discoverers,  make 
their  courage  and  perseverance  as  portentous  as  their  dis- 
coveries. Perhaps  it  is  failure  to  realize  these  considera- 
tions, added  to  ignorance  of  our  history,  which  has  led  some 
foreign  writers  to  belittle  the  merit  of  Cabrillo/  ” 4 

After  Cabrillo’s  eventful  expedition,  the  port  of  San  Diego 

2 Bolton,  Spanish  Explorations,  pp.  13-39.  See  also  Missions  and 
Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  i,  pp.  25-28. 

3 Spanish  Explorations,  pp.  5-6. 

4 Spanish  Explorations,  p.  10. 


6 Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


remained  unknown  to  the  world  until  Sunday,  November 
10,  1602,  the  eve  of  St.  Martin’s  Day,  when  about  seven 
o’clock  in  the  evening  the  three  ships  San  Diego,  Santo 
Tomas,  and  Tres  Reyes,  in  command  of  Sebastian  Vizcaino, 
dropped  their  anchors  in  its  placid  waters.  The  commander, 
in  his  Diary,  declares  that  the  port  is  “the  best  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  South  Sea ; for,  besides  being  protected  on  all 
sides  and  having  good  anchorage,  it  is  in  latitude  33^2 
degrees.* 5  It  has  very  good  water,  many  fish  of  all  kinds, 
of  which  we  caught  many  with  seine  and  hooks.  On  land, 
there  is  much  game,  such  as  rabbits,  hares,  deer,  very  large 
quail,  royal  ducks,  thrushes,  and  many  other  birds.” 

“On  the  morning  after  the  day  of  the  glorious  St. 
Martin,” 6 Torquemada  writes,  “the  general  ordered  some 
men  to  go  and  examine  a mountain  which  protects  this 
harbor  from  the  northwest  wind;  these  men  were  Ensign 
Gaspar  de  Alarcon,  Captain  Alonso  Peguero,  Fr.  Antonio 
de  la  Ascension,  and  eight  archers.  They  found  much 
live  oak  timber  and  other  trees,  such  as  the  rock-rose 
and  others  resembling  rosemary,  besides  some  very  odorifer- 
ous and  wholesome  plants.  From  the  top  of  the  mountain 
the  port  appeared  to  be  very  fine,  spacious,  and  convenient, 
because  it  was  sheltered  against  all  storms.  The  mountain, 
which  protects  the  port  on  the  northwest  side,  may  be 
three  leagues  in  length  and  half  a league  in  width.  On  the 
other  side  to  the  northwest  of  the  mountain  is  another 
good  port. 

“When  they  had  returned  with  this  report,  the  general 
commanded  that  a suitable  tent  be  pitched  on  the  land  to 
serve  as  a church,  where  the  religious  might  celebrate 
holy  Mass ; that  the  ships  be  cleaned  and  tarred ; that  some 
men  procure  firewood  and  others  stand  guard.  This  was 
done  on  a sandbank,  or  island  of  sand,7  where  they  dug 


s At  Point  Loma  Lighthouse,  32  degrees,  40  minutes,  and  13  55/100 

seconds.  See  Davidson,  Pacific  Coast  Pilot , p.  19. 

6 i.  e.  November  12,  1602,  feast  of  St.  Didacus,  according  to  Fran- 
ciscan Calendar. 

7 ‘ ‘ que  se  hizo  en  un  Arenal,  6 Isla  de  Arena.  ’ 1 


Mission  San  Diego 


7 


wells.  When  the  sea  was  high,  the  pools  contained  sweet 
and  good  \vater ; but  when  the  tide  went  out  the  water 
was  brackish.  One  day,  a sentinel  gave  notice  that  many 
Indians  were  coming  along  the  beach,  all  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  but  naked  and  besmeared  with  black  and 
white  paint.  The  general  requested  Fr.  Antonio  to  go  and 
receive  them  in  a peaceful  manner.  Ensign  Juan  Francisco 
and  six  archers  went  with  him.  When  they  had  come  up 
to  the  Indians  and  had  made  signs  of  peace  with  a strip 
of  white  cloth  and  by  throwing  up  earth  with  their  hands, 
the  first  thing  the  Indians  did  was  to  turn  the  bows  and 
arrows  over  to  the  soldiers.  Fr.  Antonio  embraced  the 
savages  and  gave  them  some  strings  of  beads,  which  they 
put  on  their  necks  for  display.  Thereupon  they  went  to 
the  place  where  the  general  was ; but  when  they  saw  the 
multitude  of  Spaniards,  they  did  not  dare  approach,  and 
so  withdrew  to  a hill,  whence  they  sent  two  wrinkled 
old  women.  When  these  arrived  at  the  tent,  the  general, 
the  religious,  and  some  ■ of  the  soldiers  gave  them  strings 
of  glass  beads  and  some  biscuits  and  with  these  sent  them 
to  tell  what  treatment  they  had  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  people  who  had  recently  arrived  in  their  country. 
The  women  related  their  impressions,  whereupon  all  im- 
mediately came  to  see  the  Spaniards.  Most  of  them  came 
painted  black  and  white,  and  wearing  many  feathers  on 
their  heads.  Vizcaino  and  the  others  received  them  with 
much  pleasure  and,  besides  many  other  things,  gave  them 
fish  which  had  been  caught  in  their  presence  with  a net. 
The  color  of  the  paint  was  a bluish  black  and  very  glossy. 
When  the  Indians  were  asked  by  means  of  signs  what  it 
was,  they  showed  some  pieces  of  metallic  stone,  from  which 
they  made  it;  and  they  said  by  means  of  signs  that  from 
these  stones  a people  in  the  interior,  who  wore  beards  and 
were  clothed  like  the  Spaniards,  extracted  it  and  made  fine 
ribbons,  that  were  like  the  laces  the  soldiers  had  on  their 
leather  jackets  and  like  the  kind  the  general  wore  on  his 
hose  of  violet  velvet;  and  that  those  men  wore  just  such 
fine  uniforms  as  our  Spaniards.  Quite  transported  with 


8 Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


the  good  treatment  accorded  them  on  this  occasion,  the 
Indians  came  every  third  day  for  biscuits  and  fish,  bringing 
in  return  skins  of  martens,  wild  cats,  and  other  animals, 
together  with  the  traps  in  which  they  caught  them.  There 
are  in  this  harbor  many  white  fish,  sea  fish,  oysters,  clams, 
lobsters,  crabs,  and  sardines,  and  along  some  of  the  creeks 
were  seen  many  wild  geese,  ducks,  quails,  hares,  and  rabbits. 
The  general  and  Fr.  Antonio  de  la  Ascension  with  some 
soldiers  went  over  the  land  to  examine  it,  and  all  were 
pleased  with  the  beautiful  sky  and  climate.” 

“Friday,  the  fifteenth  of  the  month,”  Vizcaino’s  diary  re- 
lates, “the  general  went  aboard  the  frigate,  taking  with 
him  his  son,  Fr.  Antonio,  the  chief  pilot,  and  fifteen 
arquebusiers,  in  order  to  go  and  take  the  soundings  of  a 
large  bay  which  entered  the  land.  That  night,  rowing 
with  the  flood  tide,  he  got  under  way  and  at  dawn  was 
six  leagues  within  the  bay,  which  he  found  to  be  the  best, 
large  enough  for  all  kinds  of  vessels,  more  secure  than  at 
the  anchorage,  and  better  for  careening  the  ships ; for  they 
could  be  high  and  dry  during  the  flood  tide  and  could  be 
taken  down  at  the  ebb  tide,  even  if  they  were  of  a thousand 
tons.  . . In  this  bay  the  general  with  his  men  went  ashore. 
After  they  had  gone  more  than  three  leagues  along  it,  a 
number  of  Indians  appeared  with  bows  and  arrows,  and 
although  signs  of  peace  were  made  to  them,  they  did  not 
venture  to  approach,  excepting  a very  old  woman  who 
appeared  to  be  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old  and  who  approached  weeping.  The  general  cajoled  her 
and  gave  her  some  beads  and  something  to  eat.  Seeing 
this  kind  of  treatment,  the  Indians  came  peaceably  and 
took  us  to  their  rancherias  where  they  were  gathering 
their  crops  and  where  they  had  made  their  paresos  of  seeds 
like  flax.  They  had  pots  in  which  they  cooked  their  food, 
and  the  women  were  dressed  in  skins  of  animals.  The 
general  would  not  allow  any  soldier  to  enter  their  rancherias ; 
and,  it  being  already  late,  he  returned  to  the  frigate,  many 
Indians  accompanying  him  to  the  beach.  Saturday  night, 


Mission  San  Diego  9 

he  (Vizcaino)  reached  the  flagship,  which  was  ready,  wood, 
water,  and  fish  having  been  brought  aboard.”  8 

“All  having  been  carried  out  that  the  general  had  com- 
manded,” Torquemada  continues,  “orders  were  given  to 
move  out  from  there  and  to  resume  the  voyage.  Accordingly, 
the  departure  from  the  port  took  place  on  Wednesday,  No- 
vember 20;  but  before  sailing,  all  made  their  confession 
and  received  Holy  Communion,  because  already  many 
soldiers  were  ill,  and  some  of  the  best  men  had  died.  The 
voyage  was  therefore  continued,  the  Capitana  or  flagship 
San  Diego  and  the  Almirante  or  Santo  Tomas  leaving 
together,  and  the  frigate  or  Tres  Reyes  following  later.” 
Vizcaino  concludes  his  report  with  the  remark  that  the 
port  was  given  the  name  San  Diego.9 

Again  the  magnificent  harbor  of  San  Diego  was  left 
unnoticed  by  the  Spaniards,  this  time  for  167  years. 
Fearing  that  the  Russians  would  take  advantage  of  her 
past  exploits,10  Spain,  in  1769,  at  last  decided  to  secure  by 
right  of  discovery  the  bay  along  with  the  entire  northwest 
coast.  Accordingly,  in  that  year,  Inspector-General  Don 
Jose  de  Galvez  despatched  from  Lower  California  two 
expeditions  by  sea  and  two  by  land,  instructing  them  to 
meet  and  unite  at  the  harbor  of  San  Diego.  The  first 
expedition  arriving  by  sea  in  the  San  Antonio,  commanded 
by  Captain  Juan  Perez  and  accompanied  by  the  two  Francis- 
cans Fr.  Juan  Viscaino  and  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez,  reached 
the  port  on  Tuesday,  April  11,  1769,  fifty-four  days  after 
leaving  Bay  San  Barnabe,  Lower  California.  Casting 
anchor  near  Point  Guijarros,  now  Ballast  Point,  the  vessel 
waited  for  the  arrival  of  the  San  Carlos  and  of  the  two  land 
expeditions. 

The  San  Carlos,  formerly  the  Golden  Fleece,  in  command 
of  Captain  Vicente  Vila,  and  having  the  Franciscan  Fr. 


s Spanish  Explorations,  pp.  81-82. 

9 See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  i,  pp.  47-52,  and  Appendix  A, 
for  the  patron  saint. 

10  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  p.  1. 


io  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Fernando  Parron  on  board  as  chaplain,  had  set  sail  at 

La  Paz  on  January  10,  much  earlier,  therefore,  than  her 
sister  ship.  But  misfortune  accompanied  her  throughout 

the  voyage,  as  the  following  extracts  from  the  diary  of  her 
commander  demonstrate. 

“On  Saturday,  April  29,  . . . five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,” 
Vila  relates,  while  entering  the  mouth  of  San  Diego  Bay, 
“I  discovered  the  packet  San  Antonio  anchored  at  Point 
Guijarros.11  We  broke  out  our  colors.  She  broke  out 

hers  and  fired  one  gun  to  call  in  her  launch  which  was 
ashore.  I continued  to  tack  . . . and  anchored  in  six 

fathoms  of  water.  At  eight  o’clock  in  the  evening,  the 

launch  of  the  San  Antonio  came  with  her  second  in  command 
and  pilot,  Don  Miguel  del  Pino,  who  gave  us  an  account  of 
her  voyage.  She  arrived  at  this  port  on  April  11,  half  her 
crew  down  with  scurvy,  of  which  two  men  had  died.  For 
work  they  had  only  the  seven  men  who  came  in  the  launch, 
and  of  these  a few  already  felt  symptoms  of  the  same 
disease.  Captain  Juan  Perez  also  was  in  poor  health.  Only 

the  two  Missionary  Fathers  were  well. 

“At  four  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  April  30, 
I made  sail  and  after  several  tacks  I anchored  in  six 

fathoms  of  water,  at  about  eight  o’clock  when  Holy  Mass 
was  celebrated. 

“At  five  o’clock  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  May  1, 
I succeeded  in  anchoring  under  the  shelter  of  Point  Guijar- 
ros, alongside  the  San  Antonio.  At  seven  o'clock,  the  San 
Antonio  saluted  with  six  guns;  we-  heard  holy  Mass  on 
board  and  afterwards  answered  her  with  five  guns.  At 
ten  o’clock,  Don  Juan  Perez  came  aboard  with  the  Missionary 
Fathers,  Fr.  Juan  Viscaino  and  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez. 

“At  half  past  ten  on  the  same  morning,  the  launch  of 
the  San  Antonio  went  off  with  Don  Pedro  Fages,  Don 
Miguel  Costanso,  Don  Jorge  Estorace,  my  mate,  the  same 
Missionary  Fathers,  and  those  men  who  were  strong  enough 


ii  Ballast  Point,  most  probably,  where  Perez  anchored,  and  most 
likely  also  Cabrillo.  The  place  deserves  to  be  marked  by  a monument. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 1 

to  go,  in  order  to  explore  the  country  and  to  search  for  a 
good  watering-place,  because  the  water  which  the  crew  of 
the  San  Antonio  had  collected  in  pools  was  not,  owing  to 
its  brackishness,  fit  to  drink.  Meanwhile,  Don  Juan  Perez 
gave  an  account  of  the  condition  of  his  crew.  Few  of  his 
men  were  in  proper  condition  to  continue  the  voyage  to 
Monterey,  as  directed  by  Galvez,  and  as  he  had  intended  to 
do  on  the  last  day  of  April,  in  case  of  the  non-arrival  of 
the  San  Carlos 

Captain  Vila  then  described  the  situation  on  his  own  ship, 
the  San  Carlos.  The  packet  had  only  two  seamen  in  good 
health ; the  rest  were  ill,  with  more  than  half  of  the  soldiers 
in  a similar  condition,  without  medicines  and  fresh  food  to 
help  them,  as  everything  had  been  consumed  on  the  voyage ; 
in  addition,  the  surgeon,  Don  Pedro  Prat,  was  unable  to 
help  them,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  himself  was  seriously 
ill. 

“At  nine  o’clock  in  the  evening,  the  launch  (we  had 
sent  to  shore  that  morning)  returned.  The  officers  and  the 
Missionary  Fathers  reported  that  they  had  walked  about 
three  leagues  along  the  shore  and  at  that  distance  had 
come  to  an  Indian  rancheria  on  the  banks  of  a river  with 
excellent  water;  that  the  Indians  inhabiting  the  village  to 
the  number  of  thirty-five  or  forty  families  scattered  along 
the  stream  in  small  rude  huts,  were  very  friendly  and  gentle ; 
and  that  the  country  was  pleasant  and  green,  abounding 
in  various  odoriferous  plants,  wild  grapes,  and  game. 

“At  five  o’clock,  Tuesday  morning,  I weighed  anchor ; 
and  with  the  launch  of  the  San  Antonio  out  ahead,  I 
took  advantage  of  the  rising  tide  and  proceeded  farther 
into  the  harbor.  At  half  past  seven,  I anchored  in  seven 
fathoms  of  water.  . . At  five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Wednesday  3,  several  soldiers  with  Fr.  Fernando  Parron, 
Don  Pedro  Fages,  and  Don  Jorge  Estorace  went  off  in  the 
launch  to  bury  the  dead  seamen  on  the  shore.12 


' 12  Names  are  not  given.  On  the  San  Carlos,  the  boatswain  Fernandez 
Alvarez  had  died  April  18,  in  latitude  27  degrees,  46  minutes,  and 


12  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“At  ten  o’clock  Friday  morning,  May  5,  I anchored 
astern  the  San  Antonio,  at  a distance  of  a full  cable’s 
length,  in  two  fathoms  of  water.  After  twelve  o’clock,  I 
sent  the  launch  with  orders  for  her  men  to  return  under 
arms  at  twro  o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to  recon- 
noiter  the  mouth  of  the  river,  along  with  Lieutenant  Pedro 
Fages,  and  to  arrange  a few  huts  for  the  sick.  At  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  Don  Pedro  Fages  with  four  of 
the  less  ailing  sailors  and  several  armed  soldiers  embarked 
in  the  launch.  The  launch  of  the  San  Antonio  with  her 
captain  and  several  soldiers  went  to  reconnoiter  toward  the 
southeast,  in  which  direction  the  port  extended.  At  sunset, 
the  launches  returned.  Don  Pedro  Fages  had  found  on 
examination  that  at  high  tide  the  launch  could  enter  the 
mouth  of  the  river  quite  easily  in  order  to  fill  the  casks. 

“At  six  o’clock,  Saturday  morning,  a Philippine  sailor, 
named  Agustin  Fernandez  de  Medina,  died.  At  eight 
o’clock,  the  launch  of  the  San  Antonio  put  off  with  Don 
Pedro  Fages,  Don  Miguel  Costanso,  Fr.  Juan  Viscaino,  and 
the  soldiers  who  were  best  able,  in  order  to ' begin  the  con- 
struction of  the  barracks.  At  sunset,  the  launch  returned 
with  the  Missionary  Father  and  the  officers.  They  had 
decided  to  build  the  barracks  for  the  sick  on  a hillock 
close  by  the  beach  and  a cannon  shot  from  the  packets. 
Between  eight  and  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning,  Sunday, 
May  7,  Indians  came  alongside  on  their  rafts  and.  in 
exchange  for  a few  trinkets,  gave  us  several  skins  of  sea- 
otters  and  of  other  animals  caught  in  traps.  At  half  past 
ten,  the  same  morning,  the  launch  went  ashore  with  the 
officers  and  the  Missionary  Father  to  take  charge  of  the 
building  of  the  barracks ; and  they  returned  at  sunset.  On 
Monday  morning,  at  eight  o’clock,  the  launch  went  ashore. 
In  it  were  embarked  from  the  packet  boat  two  cannon 


Manuel  Reyes,  the  pilot,  Sunday,  April  23,  in  latitude  32  degrees,  11 
minutes.  Both  were  buried  at  sea.  In  connection  with  the  latter, 
Vila  notes  that  on  this  day  all  who  had  not  yet  made  their  Easter 
duty  confessed  and  received  Holy  Communion.  It  was  the  fifth  Sunday 
after  Easter  which  latter  in  that  year  fell  on  March  26. 


Mission  San  Diego 


13 


with  their  carriages  and  everything  needed  to  handle  them, 
a supply  of  muskets,  bullets,  eight  days’  supply  of  corn, 
pulse,  jerked  beef  for  the  soldiers  in  the  garrison,  and 
hard-tack  to  be  used  in  soups  for  the  sick.” 

After  the  lodgings  had  been  completed,  at  eight  o’clock 
in  the  morning,  the  sick  were  taken  to  the  shore.  “I 
remained  on  board,”  Vila  continues,  “with  the  quartermaster, 
who  was  extremely  ill,  a Galician  sailor,  and  a little  cabin 
boy,  who  also  had  touches  of  the  disease.  I was  unable 
to  walk,  and  Fr.  Fernando  Parron  also  was  ill.  At  eight 
o’clock,  Tuesday  morning,  May  9,  I sent  the  launch  ashore 
to  construct  another  barracks  for  the  ten  sick  men  from  the 
San  Antonio.  On  the  same  day,  four  soldiers  fell  sick,  and 
Don  Miguel  Costanso  told  me  that  only  eight  men  fit  for 
work  were  left  on  the  shore.  At  two  o’clock  in  the  after- 
noon, Manuel  Sanchez,  a cabin  boy,  died ; and  Mateo  Fran- 
cisco, a Philippine  sailor,  died  on  Wednesday  morning  at 
eight  o’clock.”  13  Here  the  account  of  heroic  Captain  Vila 
terminates.  The  outlook  for  the  two  crews  was  gloomy, 
indeed;  but  relief  was  near. 

Only  four  days  later,  Sunday  afternoon,  May  14,  the 
first  land  expedition  under  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  y 
Moncada  arrived  at  the  sorely  tried  camp  near  the  Rio 
San  Diego.  With  him  came  as  chaplain  the  Franciscan 

Fr.  Juan  Crespi. 

Fr.  Juan  Crespi  was  the  first  of  the  missionaries  who 
dated  a letter  at  San  Diego.  It  was  addressed  to  the  Fr. 
Guardian  of  San  Fernando  College,  Mexico.  For  that 
reason,  and  because  the  contents  relieve  us  of  the  necessity 
of  explaining  the  situation  at  the  port  and  other  details  re- 
garding the  first  land  expedition,  the  letter  is  reproduced 
here  entire. 

Viva  Jhs.  Ma.  y Joseph!  14 

My  ever  most  esteemed  Fr.  Guardian: — I shall  rejoice  very  much  if 
on  receipt  of  this  letter  your  Paternity  enjoys  robust  health.  Thanks 


13  Bancroft  with  Hayes  thinks  that  Punta  de  los  Muertos  or  Dead 
Men’s  Point,  at  San  Diego,  derived  its  name  from  the  burial  of  the 
scurvy-stricken  soldiers.  We  do  not  think  that  the  Spaniards,  who 


14  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


be  to  God,  I enjoy  that  benefit,  and  very  willingly  I offer  it  at  your 
feet  for  the  execution  of  your  greater  pleasure. 

On  February  26,  of  the  current  year,  by  order  of  the  Fr.  Presi- 
dente,15  I set  out  from  Mission  Purisima  Concepcion  where  I was  in 
charge,  taking  the  road  to  the  north  for  the  glorious  conversion  of  the 
numerous  pagans  who  occupy  this  hemisphere  at  the  ports  of  San  Diego 
and  Monterey.  On  March  22,  I reached  the  place  called  Velicata,  situ- 
ated eighteen  leagues  from  the  most  northern  mission  of  Santa  Maria, 
having  marched  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  leagues  from  Purisima, 
where  I started  out  by  land,  to  said  place  of  Velicata.  At  this  place, 
I accompanied  Don  Fernando  de  Rivera  y Moncada,  captain  of  this 
province  and  commander  of  this  land  expedition,  who  had  been  awaiting 
me,  in  order  to  penetrate  at  once  into  the  heart  of  heathenism  in 
search  of  the  Port  of  San  Diego. 

On  March  24,  we  set  out  from  Velicata,  the  said  commander  with 
twenty-five  leather-jacket  soldiers,  three  muleteers,  and  about  fifty-two 
Christian  Indians  from  the  missions.  A train  of  about  one  hundred 
and  eighty  mules  and  horses  brought  along  the  necessary  supplies.  I 
followed  the  expedition  for  the  sole  purpose  of  ministering  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  men. 

On  May  14,  Pentecost  Sunday,  we  reached  this  excellent  port  of 
San  Diego,  all  in  good  health,  thanks  be  to  God,  and  nothing  of  note 
having  occurred  on  the  way.  From  Vebcata  to  this  port  of  San 
Diego  we  traveled  fifty-two  days,  almost  the  entire  way  leading  through 
regions  that  are  as  rough  and  barren  as  any  this  peninsula  of  Cali- 
fornia offers.  The  distance  from  Mission  Santa  Maria,  whence  we 
started  for  this  port,  according  to  the  calculations  T made  in  my 
journal,  which  I kept  by  order  of  the  Fr.  Presidente,  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  leagues  and  a half;  consequently,  from  Velicata  to 
this  port  is  only  one  hundred  and  ten  leagues  and  a half. 

Having  arrived  at  this  port  on  the  afore-mentioned  day,  we  learned 
that  the  two  packetboats  of  H;s  Majesty,  the  San  Carlos  and  the 
Principe  (San  Antonio ) lay  at  anchor;  that  the  Principe  had  arrived 
in  the  month  of  April,  her  voyage  from  Cape  San  Lucas  having  lasted 
about  one  and  one-half  month;  and  that  the  San  Carlos  had  dropped 
anchor  on  April  29,  having  made  the  voyage  in  three  months  and 
eighteen  days.  We  found  on  land  a general  hospital  erected  for  the 
men  of  both  vessels  and  for  twenty-five  volunteer  soldiers  from  the 
San  Carlos.  Until  now,  twenty-three  sailors  and  soldiers  have  died. 


preferred  to  have  the  cemeteries  near  the  church,  would  have  buried  the 
dead  so  far  away.  See  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  130-131. 

i * Blessed  be  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph. — the  usual  way  Fr.  Serra  and 
other  Fathers  head  their  letters, 
i.  e.  Fr.  Junipero  Serra. 


Mission  San  Diego 


5 


Nearly  all  the  survivors  of  the  sea  expeditions  are  suffering  very  much 
from  scurvy.  Very  few  can  keep  on  their  feet.  Only  by  a miracle 
will  most  of  them  be  able  to  escape  with  their  lives.  In  this  distress, 
the  commanders  of  the  expeditions  have  determined  that  the  Principe 
shall  depart  as  soon  as  possible  for  San  Bias,  in  order  to  report  to  the 
viceroy  and  to  Inspector-General  Galvez  what  has  happened. 

Here  I met  our  companions,  the  Fathers  Viscaino,  Parron,  and 
Gomez,  who  had  come  with  the  said  ships.  They  are  well.  As  they 
will  inform  Your  Paternity  about  everything  more  at  length,  I shall  not 
molest  you  further  on  this  point.  We  are  hourly  awaiting  the  arrival 
by  land  of  the  Fr.  Presidents  and  of  the  governor  of  th;s  province.16 
We  have  as  yet  no  news  from  them.  May  God  hasten  their  safe 
arrival. 

The  gentiles  all  over  the  country  are  numerous  and  much  more  so 
farther  inland.  The  territory  is  more  sterile  than  any  we  have  seen, 
and  there  is  a lack  of  food  for  the  poor  wretched  pagans.  Even  the 
daily  bread  of  the  wretched  people  in  this  country  is  the  maguey 
plant;11  but  this  is  wanting  in  the  greater  part  of  the  sierra,  so  far 
as  we  have  observed  with  our  own  eyes.  For  this  reason  most  of  the 
savages  of  both  coasts  endeavor  to  subsist  on  what  the  sea  yields. 

We  have  seen  many  rancherias  on  our  way.  The  male  savages  go 
altogether  naked  with  no  more  clothing  than  nature  provided.  The 
women  go  decently  covered,  in  front  with  fibres  strung  together  on  a 
girdle,  in  the  back  with  a deer  or  seal  skin.  They  cover  also  their 
breasts  and  other  parts  of  the  body  with  a kind  of  mantle  made  of 
rabbit  skins,  which  they  tie  together  very  well.  Men  and  women  are 
very  much  painted.  The  men  have  the  cartilege  of  the  nose  pierced 
and  filled  with  a piece  of  shell.  They  are  well  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows.  All  the  Indians  of  this  land  are  very  lively  and  great  traders. 
They  are  docile,  although  on  the  road  hither,  a rancheria  of  savages 
followed  us  for  three  days  intending  to  attack  us  with  arrows.  They 
did  shoot  three  arrows  at  ps,  but  not  within  a distance  to  hit  any  one. 
The  soldiers  then  fired  two  shots  without  wounding  any  one,  whereupon 
the  savages  retreated  and  let  us  pass  on  in  peace. 

This  port  of  San  Diego,  as  two  pilots  have  ascertained,  is  not  in 
latitude  thirty-three  degrees  and  thirty-four  minutes,  as  the  ancient 
reports  have,  but  in  thirty-two  degrees  and  forty-two  minutes.1® 

When  we  reached  the  port  we  found,  about  one  league  distant,  a 
good  river  running  with  sufficient  water;  but  in  a few  days  it  ran  dry. 


16  Fr.  Palou  never  gives  him  the  title  governor.  He  was  the  military 
commander  of  the  expedition  to  Upper  California  and  had  been  gover- 
nor only  of  Lower  California. 

3 1**  El  pan  quotidiano  de  los  miserables  en  este  pais  es  el  mezcal.” 
See  note  5. 


6 Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Yesterday,  May  21,  Fr.  Viscaino  and  I went  out  to  examine  it,  accom 
panied  bv  the  lieutenant  of  the  troops,  Don  Pedro  Fages,  and  the 
engineer,  Don  Miguel  Costanso,  and  seyen  or  eight  soldiers.  We 
followed  the  course  of  the  river  which  runs  through  a Canada  of  much 
level  land,  in  places  extending  from  a quarter  to  half  a league.  The 
soil  seems  to  be  good  for  raising  corn  and  wheat.  In  some  parts 
there  seem  to  be  marshes  or  humid  soil.  All  along  the  river  bed  there 
are  poplar,  willow,  and  alder  trees.  We  found  it  dry  in  many  places. 
In  some  spots  there  were  pools  with  water,  and  in  other  places  there 
was  only  a streamlet.  We  walked  about  three  leagues  up  the  river 
bed  and  the  valley;  but  conditions  were  the  same,  until  we  reached 
the  sierra,  when  the  bed  narrowed;  but  there  was  no  running  water. 
We  do  not  know  whether  any  irrigation  could  be  done  from  it. 
However,  if  there  be  sufficient  rain,  as  in  other  parts,  good  crops 
of  cereals  could  be  produced,  as  there  is  much  land  and  good  pasture. 
Building  stones  we  have  not  seen  anywhere.19 

According  to  the  disposition  of  Fr.  Presidente  Fernando  Parron,29 
it  seems  a stay  will  be  made  here;  but  I,  according  to  instructions 
of  Fr.  Presidente  Serra,  shall  take  passage  in  the  bark  to  Monterey, 
in  order  to  join,  when  it  shall  please  God,  the  said  Fr.  Presidente 
there.  May  it  please  His  Divine  Majesty  to  hasten  this  event,  so 
that  in  said  port  the  Standard  of  the  Most  Holy  Cross  may  be  planted 
and  stay  forever,  and  that  the  numerous  savages,  who  are  there  and 
are  seen  here,  may  be  converted  to  the  holy  Faith. 

I do  not  know  whether  Your  Paternity  has  received  the  two  letters 
which  I wrote  from  Purisima,  I think,  in  May  and  November  of 
the  past  year  1768.  In  them  I begged  you  to  grant  me  the  con- 
solation and  favor,  when  more  missionaries  come  to  our  aid  from 
Spain,  of  letting  my  companion,  Fr.  Cruzado,  come  to  my  assistance. 
I left  him  in  Tilaco.21  He  has  a burning  desire  in  that  way,  as  he 
explained  to  me  before  we  parted.  He  was  not  permitted  to  come 
along  at  the  time  because  only  one  Father  from  each  mission  could 
set  out.  We  are  well-known  companions  since  a long  time,  and  here 
there  is  much  that  he  could  do.  Although  I shall  pass  on  to  join 
the  Fr.  Presidente  at  Monterey,  yet  it  is  understood,  it  seems,  that  in 
a short  time  the  three  missions  to  be  founded  will  be  six.  So  there 


19  If  he  had  advanced  a league  farther,  Fr.  Crespi  would  have 
changed  this  last  statement. 

20  He  was  Presidente  or  Superior  of  the  Fathers  till  the  arrival  of 
Fr.  Junipero  Serra. 

21  In  the  Sierra  Gorda  Indian  missions  of  Mexico.  Fr.  Cruzado 

arrived  at  San  Diego  in  1771,  and  was  assigned  to  Mission  San 
Gabriel,  where  he  died  in  1804.  The  remains  were  buried  in  the 
mission  church. 


Mission  San  Diego  17 

will  always  be  room  for  said  Fr.  Cruzado,  of  course,  if  your  means 
and  holy  obedience  send  him. 

Although  I still  have  a habit  that  is  in  good  condition,  the  old 
one  was  entirely  ruined  on  the  long  journey  over  a road  that  runs 
through  sierras  all  the  wav.  So  if  you  can,  please  send,  when  oppor- 
tunity offers,  a habit  with  cowl,  and  one  tuuic  and  cord ; for  there 
is  nothing  here  from  which  to  make  them.  I am  also  in  need  of  some 
handkerchiefs.  So,  if  possible,  send  four  or  six  of  the  Puebla  manu- 
facture, since  we  are  so  far  away;  for  I have  only  two  which  I 
saved  from  the  sierra,  and  they  are  somewhat  used  up.  Since  I came 
here,  I was  unable  to  secure  any.  Likewise  I ask  you  for  a strong 
cross  for  the  rosary  on  the  girdle,  because  the  one  I have  is  broken. 
It  will  be  a favor  I shall  appreciate  very  much  and  God  will  repay 
you.  Pardon  me  for  being  so  troublesome.  I pray  that  God  may 
guard  you  and  preserve  your  important  life  many  years  in  His 
divine  love  and  grace.  Port  of  San  Diego,  June  22,  1769.  I kiss  the 
hand  of  Your  Paternity  and  remain  your  least  but  most  devoted 
subject  who  in  Christ  venerates  you.  Fr.  Juan  Crespi. 

P.  S.  I beg  you  to  give  the  enclosed  to  Fr.  Cruzado.  I recommend 
myself  with  all  the  veins  of  my  heart  to  the  entire  holy  Community, 
begging  them  to  have  me  present  in  their  holy  Sacrifices  and 
prayers.22 

The  second  land  expedition  now  approached  its  destina- 
tion. Don  Gaspar  de  Portola,  governor  of  Lower  California 
and  military  commander  of  the  expedition,  with  a few 
attendants  rode  ahead  and  reached  the  Bay  of  San  Diego 
on  Thursday,  June  29,  1769.  Fr.  Junipero  Serra,  the 
Presidente  or  Superior  of  the  missions  to  be  established 
in  Upper  California,  came  up  with  the  main  body  on 
Saturday,  July  1,  forty-six  days  after  leaving  the  last  Lower 
California  Mission,  San  Fernando.  The  reader  can  well 
imagine  the  demonstrations  of  joy,  the  salute  from  the 
ships,  and  the  expressions  of  thanksgiving  on  this  occasion, 
wherefore  the  description  is  here  omitted.  Next  day,  July 
2,  being  Sunday  and  the  feast  of  the  Visitation  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  a solemn  High  Mass  of  thanksgiving 
was  offered  up  to  Almighty  God  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph, 


22  Documentos  Eelativos  d las  Misiones  de  California,  Quarto  Series, 
Museo  Nacional  de  Mexico.  This  letter  was  kindly  copied  for  the 
writer  at  the  Museo  Nacional  by  Professor  Herbert  E.  Bolton  of  the 
University  of  California. 


18  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


the  patron  of  the  expedition.  About  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  persons,  many  of  them  still  very  ill,  survivors  of 
the  two  hundred  and  nineteen  who  had  set  out  from  Lower 
California  by  land  and  sea,  celebrated  the  reunion.  Next 

day,  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  wrote  his  first  letter  from  Upper 
California.  It  is  interesting  enough  to  be  reproduced.  It 
reads  as  follows : 

Blessed  be  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph. 

Rev.  Father  Lector  23  and  Presidente 24  Francisco  Palou, — My  dear 
Brother  and  Senor: — I shall  rejoice  if  Your  Reverence  be  in  good 
health  and  laboring  with  much  consolation  and  success  in  firmly 

establishing  your  new  mission  field  of  Loreto  and  of  the  others; 
and  if,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  reinforcement  of  new  missionaries 
comes,  so  that  everything  may  be  established  in  good  order  for  the 
consolation  of  all.  Thanks  be  to  God,  I arrived  here  day  before 
yesterday,  the  first  of  the  month,  at  this  truly  beautiful  and  justly 
famed  Port  of  San  Diego.  I here  came  up  with  all  who  had  preceded 
me  by  land  as  well  as  by  sea,  except  those  who  had  died.  Here 
are  our  companions,  the  Fathers  Crespi,  Vizcaino,  Parron,  Gomez, 
and  myself,  all  well,  thanks  be  to  God.  Here  are  the  two  ships; 
the  San  Carlos  is  without  sailors,  for  all  have  died  of  scurvy,  save 
one  and  a cook;  the  San  Antonio , otherwise  El  Principe,  whose  captain 
is  Don  Juan  Perez,  a countryman  from  Rivera  de  Palma,  arrived  here 
twenty  days  before  the  other,  although  she  had  set  sail  a month  and 
a half  later.  Just  as  she  was  about  to  sail  for  Monterey,  the  San 

Carlos  arrived.  While  the  crew  of  the  San  Antonio  endeavored  to 

succor  those  of  the  San  Carlos,  they  themselves  were  infected,  so  that 
eight  of  them  died.  In  the  end,  it  was  resolved  that  the  San  Antonio 
should  return  from  here  to  San  Bias  and  bring  up  sailors  for  herself 
and  for  the  San  Carlos,  and  that  thereupon  both  should  sail.  We 
shall  see  in  what  condition  the  San  Jose  arrives.  If  she  comes  in 
good  condition,  she,  the  last  ship,  will  be  the  first  to  depart. 

Two  things  have  caused  the  disaster  on  the  San  Carlos.  The  first 
were  the  defective  barrels  from  which  it  was  unexpectedly  discovered 
water  had  escaped,  so  that  of  four  barrels  not  enough  was  left  to 
fill  one.  Hence  they  were  obliged  to  hasten  to  land  to  take  water; 
but  what  they  obtained  was  of  poor  quality,  and  from  drinking  it 
the  crew  began  to  take  sick.25  The  second  cause  was  the  misappre- 


23  i.  e.  professor  of  theology.  With  members  of  religious  Orders, 
Lector  stands  for  professor. 

24  He  was  Presidente  in  Lower  California  after  the  departure  of 
Fr.  Junipero  Serra. 

25  See  Appendix  B. 


Mission  San  Diego 


19 


hension  under  which  all  labored,  His  Excellency  as  well  as  the  rest, 
that  this  port  lay  between  latitude  thirty-three  and  thirty-four  degrees; 
for  some  authors  claim  the  one  and  some  the  other.  Galvez  had 
given  strict  orders  to  Captain  Vila  as  also  to  the  other  captain  to 
sail  out  into  the  ocean  and  proceed  as  far  as  latitude  thirty-four 
degrees  and  then  to  cruise  in  search  of  said  port ; but  since  this  port 
is  actually  not  in  a higher  latitude  than  thirty-three  degrees  and 
thirty-four  minutes,  according  to  the  observations  made  by  the  officials 
here,  the  ships  passed  far  beyond  this  port,  so  that  when  they  looked 
for  it,  they  failed  to  find  it ; and  this  caused  the  voyage  to  be 
prolonged.  Furthermore,  as  the  crew  already  ill  reached  a colder 
climate  and  continued  using  the  unwholesome  water,  they  were  all  so 
much  prostrated  that,  if  they  had  not  made  for  the  port  soon,  all 
would  have  perished ; for  they  were  already  unable  to  let  dQwn  the 
launch  to  obtain  water  or  to  do  any  other  work.  Fr.  Fernando 
labored  faithfully  with  the  sick,  and  although  he  became  feeble, 
nothing  particular  happened  to  Urn,  and  now  he  is  already  in  good 
health.  I shall  not  let  him  embark  again,  and  he  is  glad  to  stay  here. 

On  this  occasion  I am  writing  at  some  length  to  the  Inspector- 
General,  to  the  College,  and  to  our  Father  Cominissarv-General.  Hence 
I am  somewhat  tired.  If  it  had  not  been  that  Captain  Perez,  seeing 
me  so  occupied,  diverted  himself  otherwise,  I believe  he  would  have 
sailed  away  and  I should  have  been  unable  to  write  at  all.  With 
regard  to  the  journey  of  Fr.  Juan  Crespi  in  company  with  the 
captain,  he  tells  me  that  he  is  writing  a letter  to  Your  Reverence 
and  sending  it  by  this  same  bark,  so  that  I have  nothing  to  say. 
So  far  as  I am  concerned,  the  journey  has  been  truly  a happy  one, 
without  any  noteworthy  break  in  my  health.  I started  out  from  the 
frontier  mission  with  my  foot  and  leg  in  the  worst  condition;  but 
God  operated 26  so  that  each  day  I was  more  relieved,  and  made 
Ihe  journey  as  if  I had  no  such  malady.  At  present  the  foot  is 
altogether  as  sound  as  the  other ; but  from  the  ankle  to  half  way 
up,  the  leg  is  like  the  foot  was  before,  one  sore;  but  there  is  no 
swelling  nor  more  pain  than  an  occasional  itching;  in  fact,  it  is  not 
worth  mentioning. 

I have  suffered  neither  hunger  nor  want ; nor  have  the  Indian 
neophytes  who  came  with  us  suffered;  and  so  all  have  arrived  sound 
and  strong.  I have  kept  a diary.  On  the  first  occasion,  I shall 
transmit  to  Your  Reverence  a part  of  it.  The  missions  in  the  regions 
wlr'ch  we  have  seen  will  all  thrive  very  well,  because  there  is  good 
land  and  sufficient  water.  On  the  road  hither  and  for  great  distances 
back,  there  are  no  rocks  or  thorns;  but  there  are  hills,  indeed,  very 
high  and  continuous,  though  composed  only  of  earth.  Some  roads  are 


26  Fr.  Serra  alludes  to  medical  treatment  received  at  the  hands  of  a 
muleteer.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  i,  p.  361. 


20 


Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


FR.  JUNIPERO  SERRA,  0.  F.  M. 


Mission  San  Diego 


21 


good,  others  are  bad;  more,  however,  are  of  the  latter  kind,  though 
it  is  no  matter  of  importance.  About  half  way  or  earlier  from  where 
we  started,  we  began  to  encounter  many  arroyos  and  ravines  overgrown 
with  poplar  trees.  There  are  pretty  and  large  wild  vines;  in  some 
places  they  are  loaded  down  with  grapes.  In  various  arroyos  along 
the  road  and  in  the  place  where  we  are  now,  besides  wild  grapevines, 
there  are  various  roses  of  Castile.  In  fine,  it  is  a good  country, 

very  much  different  from  the  land  of  Old  California. 

From  May  21,  when  we  left  San  Juan  de  Dios,  as  I wrote  Your 
Reverence,  until  July  1,  when  we  arrived  here,  save  eight  days  during 
which  we  rested  the  animals,  one  day  here  and  another  day  there, 
we  have  journeyed  every  day.  However,  the  longest  march  was  six 
hours;  of  such  days  there  have  been  but  two.  On  the  other  days  the 
march  lasted  four  or  four  and  a half  hours,  from  two  to  three,  and 
even  only  one  and  a half  hour,  as  on  each  day  the  diary  states, 
and  that,  too,  at  the  pace  of  the  pack-mules.  From  this  it  may 
be  inferred  that,  when  one  is  well  equipped  and  the  roads  are  more 
direct,  many  leagues  of  the  superfluous  circuits  could  be  cut  off.  The 

road  is  not  very  long.  I believe  that  after  this  trouble  is  taken, 

it  would  be  a matter  of  about  twelve  days  for  the  Fathers;  and 

the  soldiers  right  now  declare  that  lightly  burdened  they  would  go 
to  the  frontier  Mission  of  San  Fernando  de  Velicata  in  much 
less  time. 

The  natives  are  exceedingly  numerous,  and  all  of  this  coast  of  the 
South  Sea  along  which  we  came  from  the  Ensenada  at  Todos 
Santos,  so  called  on  the  maps  and  charts,  live  well  on  various  seeds 
and  on  fish  which  they  catch  from  rafts  made  of  tules  and  formed 
like  canoes,  with  which  they  venture  far  out  on  the  sea.  The 
Indians  are  very  friendly.  All  the  males,  men  as  well  as  boys,  go 
naked.  The  women  and  girls  are  decently  covered  as  far  as  the 
breast.  In  that  manner  they  would  approach  us  on  the  road  as  well 
as  in  the  camps.  They  would  treat  us  with  such  confidence  and 
ease  as  though  they  had  known  us  all  their  life.  When  we  wished 
to  give  them  something  to  eat,  they  would  say  they  did  not  want 
that,  but  clothing.  Only  for  things  of  this  kind  would  they  barter 
their  fish  with  the  soldiers  and  muleteers.  All  along  the  road  were 
seen  rabbits,  hares,  and  sometimes  a deer,  and  very  many  antelopes. 

The  expedition  by  land,  the  governor  tells  me,  he  will  continue 
together  with  the  captain  (Rivera)  three  or  four  days  from  now. 
He  will  leave  us*  here,  he  says,  with  eight  leather-jacket  soldiers  as 
guards  and  some  sick  Catalonian  soldiers  who  may  serve  in  the  same 
capacity  when  they  have  recovered.  The  mission  has  not  been  founded, 
but  I shall  take  steps  in  that  direction  as  soon  as  they  depart.  My 
friend,  I had  written  so  far,  when  my  countryman,  the  captain,  came 
and  told  me  that  he  could  wait  no  longer  without  loss,  and  so  I 
conclude  with  saying  that  the  Fathers  here  earnestly  recommend 


22  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


themselves  to  Your  Reverence;  that  we  are  well  and  contented;  that 
I recommend  myself  to  Father  Martinez  and  the  other  companions 
to  whom  I intended  to  write,  but  cannot;  I shall  do  so  at  the  first 
opportunity.  Because  the  captain  tells  me  he  is  going  to  sail  for 
the  South,  I am  sending  this  letter  to  Fr.  Ramos,  that  he  may  read 
it  and  forward  it  to  Your  Reverence,  whose  life  and  health  God 
may  keep  many  years.  From  this  port  and  proposed  new  Mission 
of  San  Diego  in  northern  California.  July  3,  1769.  B.  L.  M.  de  Y.  R., 
your  most  affectionate  brother  and  servant.  Fr.  Junipero  Serra.27 


27  Palou,  Vida,  cap.  xvi. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  San  Antonio  Returns  to  San  Bias. — Portola  Sets  Out  for  Monterey 
Bay. — Founding  of  Mission  San  Diego. — Greed  of  Indians. — -Their 
Aversion  for  Spanish  Food. — Savages  Attack  the  Mission. — Bravery 
of  the  Blacksmith. — Savages  Receive  Their  First  Lesson. — Casualties 
Among  the  Spaniards. — Charming  Incident. — Friendly  Youth. — 
Frustrated  Baptism. — Dr.  Prat’s  Devotion  to  the  Sick. — Portola 
Returns  from  the  North. — He  Determines  to  Abandon  San  Diego. — 
Fr.  Serra ’s  Resolution. — Captain  Vila  Agrees  with  Fr.  Presidente. — 
Fr.  Serra  Notifies  Fr.  Palou. — He  Proposes  a Novena. — His 
Anxiety. — The  Feast  of  St.  Joseph. — The  Ship!  the  Ship! — Cali- 
fornia Saved. — The  San  Antonio  Arrives. — Fr.  Serra  to  Fr. 
Palou. — Expeditions  to  Monterey  Bay. — Found  at  Last. — Heroic 
Captain  Vila  Sails  and  Dies. — Arrival  of  Ten  Franciscans. — Rivera 
Brings  Up  the  Cattle. — Soldiers  Desert. — Fr.  Paterna  Induces  Them 
to  Return. 

IN  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  soldiers  and  sailors  had 
already  succumbed  to  scurvy,  and  that  the  many  who  were 
still  suffering  from  this  dread  disease  had  poor  prospects 
of  a speedy  recovery,  Portola  and  Vila  decided  that  the 
San  Antonio,  manned  with  such  of  the  crew  as  were  able 
to  serve,  should  sail  for  San  Bias,  report  the  situation  to 
Don  Jose  de  Galvez,  and  return  with  new  seamen  for  both 
vessels.  Accordingly,  on  July  9,  Captain  Juan  Perez  set 
sail  with  a small  crew  of  convalescent  sailors.  Only 
twenty-one  days  later,  he  reached  the  Port  of  San  Bias, 
Tepic  Territory.  Nine  of  his  crew,  however,  had  died  at 
sea. 

At  the  same  time,  the  San  Carlos,  lying  idle  at  San  Diego 
with  only  Captain  Vila,  five  sailors,  two  cabin-boys,  and  two 
soldiers  on  board,  it  was  decided  that  Portola  proceed  by 
land  in  search  of  Monterey  Bay.  Accompanied  by  Fathers 
Juan  Crespi  and  Francisco  Gomez,  this  land  expedition 
started  out  on  Friday,  July  14,  1769,  after  a Solemn  High 
Mass  had  been  offered  up  to  Almighty  God  in  honor  of  St. 
Joseph  for  the  success  of  the  undertaking.1  For  the  pro- 

1 As  this  subject  does  not  concern  us  here,  we  refer  the  reader  to 
Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  ii,  for  particulars. 


24  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


tection  of  the  camp,  which  in  reality  was  now  a great  hospital 
or  pesthouse,  the  first  in  California,  Portola  left  behind  only 
eight  soldiers  or  rather  six,  since  two  had  remained  aboard 
the  San  Carlos;  to  these  were  added  one  corporal,  one 
blacksmith,  one  carpenter,  a servant,  eight  Christian  Indians 
from  Lower  California,  and  the  ever-faithful  Doctor  Pedro 
Prat.2 

While  Portola  was  pursuing  his  northward  course,  Fr. 
Junipero  Serra  at  San  Diego  called  to  mind  the  chief 
object  of  his  coming  to  California — the  conversion  of  the 
savages  to  Christianity.  So  far,  holy  Mass  had  been  cele- 
brated in  a brushwood  shelter  and  that  only  for  the  Span- 
iards. The  zealous  friar  now  resolved  to  establish  for  the 
natives  a center  of  missionary  activity,  after  the  manner 
of  those  he  had  served  in  the  Sierra  Gorda,  Mexico,  in 
other  words,  an  Indian  mission.  For  this  he  chose  a location 
adjoining  the  Spanish  camp.  Regarding  this  enterprise 
of  Fr.  Serra,  Portola,  on  April  17,  1770,  nearly  three  months 
after  returning  from  his  unsuccessful  expedition  to  Monterey 
Bay,  reported  to  Viceroy  De  Croix  in  these  terms : “The 

mission  has  been  moved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Fr. 
Presidente,  and  it  is  guarded  by  nine  soldiers,  including 
the  sergeant,  but  not  counting  three  or  four  other  individ- 
uals.” 3 

Sunday,  July  16,  the  day  selected  for  the  founding  of 
the  first  mission  in  California,  was  a most  appropriate  one, 
Fr.  Palou  observes;  for  on  that  day,  in  the  year  1212,  the 
Spaniards  under  the  banner  of  the  Holy  Cross  gained  a 
glorious  victory  over  the  Mahomedans.  This  event  was 
annually  celebrated  by  a special  feast  termed  the  Triumph  of 
the  Holy  Cross.  Furthermore,  it  was  the  day  of  Our  Lady 
of  Mount  Carmel,  through  whose  intercession  Fr.  Serra 
hoped  to  wean  the  savages  from  their  beastly  practices 
and  induce  them  to  accept  the  ennobling  Faith  of  Christ. 


2 See  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  ii,  pp.  16-18. 

s Archivo  General  y Publico,  quoted  in  the  San  Francisco  Call  by 
Professor  Herbert  E.  Bolton. 


Mission  San  Diego 


25 


On  the  morning  of  July  16,  therefore,  the  zealous  Fr. 
Presidente,  assisted  by  Fathers  Vizcaino  and  Parron,  raised 
the  Cross  where  the  chapel  was  to  stand;  whereupon,  he 
blessed  the  sacred  emblem  of  salvation  as  also  the  location 
for  the  future  mission,  both  within  sight  of  the  harbor.4 
The  few  men  able  to  be  on  their  feet,  when  not  attending 
the  scurvy-stricken  soldiers  and  sailors,  lent  their  assistance 
in  constructing  a few  poor  huts  of  stakes  which  they 
roofed  with  tules.5  These  rude  structures  together  with  the 
hospital  camp  they  surrounded  with  a stockade. 

One  of  the  buildings  somewhat  larger  than  the  rest  was 
selected  for  divine  worship  until  a better  chapel  could  be 
built.  On  the  day  of  its  dedication,  Fr.  Serra  himself 
sang  the  High  Mass  and  preached  an  appropriate  sermon. 
Such  was  the  formal  beginning  of  Mission  San  Diego  de 
Alcala  near  what  is  now  Old  Town,  San  Diego ; and  its 
first  missionaries  were  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  and  Fr.  Fernando 
Parron,  the  latter  having  come  from  Lower  California  on 
the  ill-fated  San  Carlos. 

Without  delay,  Fr.  Serra  endeavored  to  attract  the  savages 
who  now  and  then  would  show  themselves ; but,  since  the 
Fathers  could  not  understand  their  language,  the  Indians 
would  accept  the  gifts  offered  them  and  then  try  to  steal 
whatever  came  within  their  reach.  They  would  molest 
even  the  sufferers  abed.  Without  the  least  fear,  they  would 
ridicule  the  soldiers ; and  when  a gun  was  fired,  they  would 
jeeringly  mimic  the  report,  for  they  had  yet  to  learn  the 
disastrous  effect  of  firearms.  From  day  to  day  they  grew 
more  insolent,  so  that  often  the  Spaniards  were  tempted  to 
teach  them  a wholesome  lesson ; but  prudence  demanded 
forbearance. 

Though  the  savages  would  seize  any  article  that  could 


^“Levanto  el  V.  P.  Junipero  el  estandarte  de  la  Santa  Cruz, 
fijandola  en  el  sitio  que  le  parecio  mas  proprio  para  la  formacion  del 
pueblo  a la  vista  de  aquel  puerto.  ” (Palou,  Vida,  82-83.) 

saunas  pobres  ehozas  de  tule  dentro  de  la  estacada.  ” (Palou, 
Noticias,  vol.  ii,  p.  254.) 


26  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


be  carried  off,  they  coveted  especially  all  kinds  of  cloth.  It 
was  not  that  they  wished  to  dress  decently;  for,  as  Fr. 
Crespi  goodnaturedly  remarks,  were  all  the  clothing  in  the 
warehouses  of  Mexico  delivered  to  them  with  instructions 
to  cover  themselves,  they  would  wear  them  on  that  occasion, 
indeed,  but  afterwards  would  let  them  disappear  forever. 
So  eager  were  the  San  Diego  natives  for  drygoods  that 
one  night  they  approached  the  ship,  by  means  of  their 
tule  rafts,  and,  only  for  the  vigilance  of  the  sailors,  would 
have  succeeded  in  cutting  a piece  of  cloth  from  one  of 
the  sails.  On  another  occasion,  they  were  caught  in  the  act 
of  cutting  one  of  the  ropes.  This  audacity  caused  the 
commander  to  station  two  soldiers  on  board  the  San  Carlos. 
In  short,  reversing  his  earlier  opinion  of  the  natives,  Fr. 
Crespi  now  declared  that  “their  voracity  for  stealing  is 
without  parallel.”  6 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said,  it  may  seem  strange  that 
the  Indians  would  accept  no  eatables  from  the  Spaniards.  If, 
for  instance,  a piece  of  sugar  was  put  into  the  mouth  of  a 
child,  the  little  one  would  spit  it  out  as  if  it  were  poison. 
This  aversion,  the  Spaniards  afterwards  learned,  was  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  Indians  attributed  the  sickness  of  so 
many  sailors  and  soldiers  among  the  newcomers  to  what 
they  were  accustomed  to  eat.  Without  doubt,  Fr.  Palou 
remarks,  this  was  due  to  the  special  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence ; for  had  the  Indians  been  as  fond  of  the  eat- 
ables of  the  Spaniards  as  they  were  of  their  drygoods,  the 
men  would  have  died  of  starvation. 

Among  the  regular  Indian  visitors,  was  a boy  who 
seemed  to  take  a fancy  to  the  mission  and  who  refrained 
from  stealing  anything.  With  him  the  Fathers  and  soldiers 
hoped  to  make  a beginning  toward  the  conversion  of  his 
people.  Hence  they  petted  and  entertained  him  as  well  as 
possible,  so  that  by  staying  around  the  settlement  he  might 
learn  the  Spanish  language  and  later  act  as  interpreter. 


6 Fr.  Crespi  to  Fr.  Guardian  Andres,  February  8,  1770;  Diario, 
January  24,  1770;  Palou,  Noticias , vol.  ii,  p.  243. 


Mission  San  Diego 


27 


In  time  they  succeeded ; for  in  a few  years  the  youth  became 
the  official  interpreter.  All  the  other  natives,  however, 
continued  to  manifest  ill-will ; and  it  soon  became  evident 
that  at  the  first  opportunity  they  would  openly  assail  the 
strangers. 

The  first  attempt  in  this  direction  occurred  less  than  a 
month  after  the  opening  of  the  mission.  Armed  with  clubs, 
bows,  and  arrows,  the  savages  attacked  it,  determined  to 
massacre  the  Spaniards  and  to  enjoy  the  booty.  But  they 
met  with  unexpected  resistance  from  the  soldiers,  who, 
however,  as  yet  refrained  from  using  their  firearms.  The 
savage  party  withdrew,  but  only  to  increase  their  forces 
and  to  await  a more  favorable  time  for  carrying  out  their 
bloody  design.  Two  days  later,  an  opportunity  offered  itself. 

“On  the  fifteenth  of  the  same  month  of  August,”  Fr. 
Palou  relates,  “on  which  day  is  celebrated  the  great  feast 
of  the  glorious  Assumption  of  our  Queen  and  Lady  into 
heaven,  two  soldiers  as  usual  accompanied  Fr.  Parron  to 
the  San  Carlos,  aboard  which  he  was  to  celebrate  holy  Mass, 
leaving  only  four  guards  at  the  mission.  The  Fr.  Presidente 
and  Fr.  Vizcaino  had  finished  celebrating  the  holy  Sacrifice, 
during  which  some  of  the  men  received  Holy  Communion. 
The  four  soldiers,  it  seems,  had  gone  to  the  river  to  water 
the  horses.  No  sooner  did  the  savages  notice  that  the  place 
was  without  guards,  than  a great  number  of  them,  all  armed 
with  bows  and  quivers  filled  with  arrows,  fell  upon  the 
mission  and  began  to  rob  everything  they  could  carry  away. 
They  pulled  away  the  very  sheets  from  under  the  sick. 
Fortunately,  the  corporal,  who  had  gone  with  the  horses, 
saw  the  savages  move  toward  the  mission.  Guessing  their 
intention,  he  exclaimed,  ‘To  arms!’,  and  then  hastened  back 
with  his  three  companions.  Slipping  on  their  leather  jackets, 
which  were  impervious  to  arrows,  they  grasped  the  shield 
in  one  hand  and  with  the  other  seized  their  muskets.  When 
the  Indians  saw  this,  they  ceased  robbing  and  withdrew, 
meanwhile  discharging  their  arrows.  The  time  had  come 
to  teach  them  a lesson;  wherefore,  the  soldiers  fired  their 
muskets  at  them.  A regular  battle  ensued,  in  which  the 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


28  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Indians  to  their  cost  for  the  first  time  learned  the  effects 
of  a gunshot.  The  four  soldiers  received  material  aid 
from  the  carpenter  and  the  blacksmith,  who  used  their 
weapons  with  much  valor.  The  blacksmith  especially 
excelled  in  courage.  Though  he  had  no  leather  jacket  to 
protect  himself,  he  ran  among  the  huts  and  shacks,  dis- 
charging his  musket  at  the  savages  and  yelling  at  the  top 
of  his  voice,  ‘Long  live  the  Faith  of  Jesus  Christ!  Death 
to  the  hostile  dogs !’ 

“Meanwhile,  in  their  poor  hut,  Fr.  Presidente  and  his 
companion  recommended  all  to  God,  praying  that  no 
deaths  might  occur  either  among  the  soldiers  or  among 
the  savages,  lest  any  of  the  latter  die  without  Baptism. 
After  a while,  Fr.  Vizcaino,  desirous  to  see  whether  the 
Indians  had  retired,  slightly  raised  the  maguey  mat  which 
served  as  a door  to  the  hut.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so 
than  his  hand  was  wounded  by  an  arrow.  He  dropped 
the  curtain,  and  then  recommended  himself  to  God,  as  did 
also  the  servant  of  God,  Fr.  Junipero  Serra.  Although  the 
wound  afterwards  healed,  one  finger  always  remained 
crippled. 

“Some  time  later,  while  the  battle  and  the  wild  shouts  of 
the  Indians  continued,  Joseph  Maria,  the  servant  of  the 
Fathers,  rushed  into  the  room.  Falling  at  the  feet  of  the 
venerable  Fr.  Serra,  he  cried  out,  ‘Father,  absolve  me; 
the  Indians  have  killed  me !’  He  made  a brief  confession 
and  the  Father  gave  him  absolution ; immediately  after,  the 
wounded  man  expired.  An  arrow  had  pierced  his  throat. 
The  Fathers  kept  his  death  a secret,  so  that  the  savages 
knew  nothing  about  it.  Of  the  aggressors,  however,  several 
fell  dead.  Seeing  the  power  of  the  firearms  and  observing 
the  bravery  of  the  Christians,  the  savages  retired,  taking 
along  their  wounded.  They  carried  away  also  their  dead, 
so  that  the  Spaniards  might  not  know  that  any  of  the 
Indians  had  been  killed.  Among  the  Christians,  besides 
Fr.  Vizcaino,  one  soldier,  one  Lower  California  Indian, 
and  the  brave  blacksmith  were  wounded,  though  not  dan- 
gerously. Under  the  care  of  Doctor  Prat,  all  soon  re- 


Mission  San  Diego 


29 


covered.  The  death  of  the  servant  remained  a secret,  and 
his  burial  took  place  privately.  In  keeping  with  their  custom, 
the  savages  burned  the  bodies  of  their  dead.  Some  of  their 
number  must  have  been  killed,  though  the  Indians  tried  to 
conceal  the  fact ; for  the  wailing  of  the  women  in  the  ranch- 
erias  could  be  heard  at  the  mission  a long  time  after. 

“The  Indians  soon  began  to  reappear,  but  without  arms 
and  much  changed  in  conduct.  They  brought  their  wounded 
to  the  doctor  who  treated  them  with  much  sympathy,  until 
all  had  recovered.  The  kindness  experienced  at  our  hands 
and  the  sad  lesson  they  had  learned  in  their  last  undertak- 
ing, induced  the  savages  to  treat  us  with  respect  and  to 
conduct  themselves  in  a manner  far  different  from  formerly. 
They  would  visit  the  mission,  but  always  without  weapons 
of  any  kind.  Nevertheless,  for  safety,  the  Spaniards  erected 
a stockade  of  poles  around  the  buildings ; nor  would  they 
permit  an  armed  savage  to  approach  the  stockade  within 
gunshot.” 7 

In  connection  with  this,  Fr.  Palou  relates  a charming 
incident  of  the  Fathers’  first  missionary  experiences.  In  the 
mission,  they  had  a beautiful  picture  representing  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  with  the  Child  Jesus  in  her  arms. 
When  the  Indians  heard  of  it,  they  would  come  and  ask 
the  Fathers  to  let  them  see  the  picture.  Unable  to  get  up 
close  to  it  on  account  of  the  stockade  through  which  they 
were  not  allowed  to  pass,  the  Indian  women  would  thrust 
their  breasts  through  the  poles,  thus  signifying  their  love 
for  the  divine  Infant  and  their  desire  to  nourish  the  beautiful 
Child.8  This  simplicity  of  the  poor  natives  consoled  and 
encouraged  the  missionaries  in  their  efforts  to  make  them 
spiritual-minded  and  God-fearing  Christians.  “Yet,”  Fr. 
Palou  continue^  “these  Indians  were  not  won  over  to 
Christianity,  nor  would  they  set  foot  inside  the  mission. 
Only  the  afore-mentioned  youth  frequently  visited  the  mis- 


7 Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  ii.  p.  253. 

8 Palou,  Vida,  p.  131. 


30  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


sion ; but  even  he  would  for  periods  at  a time  absent  him- 
self. In  the  end,  however,  this  boy  of  fifteen  years  came 
every  day  and  ate  whatever  the  missionaries  gave  him.”  9 

Meanwhile,  the  presence  of  the  youth  had  matured  a grea* 
plan  in  the  mind  of  Fr.  Serra,  whose  zeal  for  immortal 
souls  chafed  under  the  inactivity  to  which  the  animosity  of 
the  natives  condemned  him  and  his  companions.  Entirely 
at  a loss  how  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  elder  Indians, 
he  hoped  to  find,  with  the  aid  of  the  boy,  means  and  ways 
of  baptizing  some  of  the  children.  After  that,  he  trusted, 
their  parents  would  become  more  approachable  and  per- 
haps even  ask  for  Baptism.  How  sadly  his  plan  miscarried, 
we  shall  let  his  biographer,  Fr.  Palou,  relate. 

“When  the  young  Indian  had  learned  to  understand  a 
little  Spanish,  the  venerable  Father  told  him  to  try  whether 
he  could  not,  with  the  parents’  consent,  bring  some  little 
child,  because  he  wanted  to  make  it  a Christian  like  the  white 
men,  by  pouring  a little  water  on  its  head;  this  would  make 
it  a child  of  God  and  of  the  Fathers,  and  a relative  of  the 
soldiers,  who  would  present  the  child  with  clothing,  so  that 
it  could  go  about  dressed  like  the  Spaniards.  The  boy,  hav- 
ing at  last  understood  what  was  wanted,  communicated 
the  message  to  the  savages.  After  the  lapse  of  a few  days, 
he  returned  with  a crowd  of  Indians,  one  of  whom  carried 
a male  infant  in  his  arms.  By  means  of  signs  the  Indian 
gave  the  Father  to  understand  that  he  wanted  the  child 
baptized.  Filled  with  holy  joy,  the  venerable  Father 
immediately  gave  the  Indian  some  suitable  clothes  with 
which  to  dress  the  child.  Then  he  invited  the  corporal  to 
act  as  sponsor  and  requested  the  other  soldiers  to  help 
solemnize  the  first  Baptism  which  was  to  be  administered 
in  the  chapel,  with  the  Indians  present.  When  the  Father 
had  finished  the  preliminary  ceremonies  and  was  about  to 
pour  on  the  baptismal  water,  a savage  snatched  the  child 
away  and  ran  with  it  to  the  rancheria.  The  others  followed 
laughing  and  jeering,  while  the  Father  stood  amazed  hold- 


9 Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  ii,  p.  253. 


Mission  San  Diego 


3 


ing  the  baptismal  shell  in  his  hand.  When  the  soldiers 
proposed  to  avenge  the  profanation,  Fr.  Serra,  remembering 
the  ignorance  and  savage  nature  of  the  poor  creatures,  told 
the  men  to  overlook  the  offense.  So  great,  however,  was 
the  sorrow  of  our  venerable  Father  at  seeing  the  Baptism 
frustrated  that  for  many  days  he  went  about  with  a counte- 
nance which  plainly  showed  the  pain  and  grief  he  felt.  He 
attributed  the  failure  to  his  sins ; and  whenever,  even  after 
the  lapse  of  years,  he  told  the  story,  his  eyes  would  fill  with 
tears.”  10 

To  prevent  misunderstanding,  it  must  be  stated  that  in  this 
matter  Fr.  Serra,  no  doubt,  acted  rashly.  In  keeping  with 
the  laws  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the  missionaries  never, 
throughout  the  history  of  the  missions,  baptized  either  old 
or  young,  unless  security  was  given  that  the  recipient 
would  thereafter  voluntarily  lead  a Christian  life.  For  this 
reason,  in  the  case  of  adults,  Baptism  was  often  postponed 
till  shortly  before  their  death ; and  in  the  case  of  children, 
the  parents  had  to  promise  that  their  baptized  offspring 
should  be  raised  as  Christians.  The  sponsor,  too,  was  each 
time  advised  of  his  relationship  with  the  child,  for  whom  he 
stood,  as  well  as  of  the  strict  obligation  he  thereby  assumed 
to  see  that  his  God-child  was  raised  a Christian.  In  the 
case  just  related,  the  sponsor  could  not  under  the  circum- 
stances make  such  a promise ; nor  could  Fr.  Serra  accept  it 
as  sufficient  security.  Sponsorship  in  the  Catholic  Church 
is  no  mere  formality.  Perhaps  the  good  Father  persuaded 
himself  that  eventually  the  Indians  would  become  Christians ; 
but  he  was  making  a venture  withal,  which  can  hardly 
serve  to  justify  his  method  of  procedure.  It  was  well,  there- 
fore, that  he  failed,  since  thereby  he  as  also  the  sponsor 
was  relieved  of  a tremendous  responsibility. 

All  this  while,  the  scurvy-stricken  sailors  and  soldiers 
were  treated  with  the  utmost  devotion  by  good  Doctor 
Prat.  Although  many  were  on  the  road  to  recovery,  medi- 
cine and  careful  nursing  failed  in  the  case  of  eight  Catalon- 


10  Palou,  Vida,  p.  86. 


32  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


ian  volunteers,  four  soldiers,  one  servant,  and  six  Christian 
Indians  from  Lower  California;  these  died  before  the  return 
of  Portola’s  expedition.  After  indescribable  hardships,  en- 
dured heroically  by  his  men,  the  captain  arrived  safe  at  the 
starting-  point,  on  January  24,  1770.  During  all  this  time, 
the  Fathers  had  not  succeeded  in  making  a single  convert, 
unless  we  except  the  youth,  who,  however,  was  not  yet 
baptized.  Nor  had  any  permanent  dwellings  been  erected. 
Fr.  Serra  trusted  that,  when  the  captain  returned  with  his 
men,  some  improvements  would  be  made ; but  on  learning 
that  the  San  Antonio  had  not  arrived  with  fresh  supplies, 
the  commander  was  in  no  mood  to  encourage  missionary 


work  at  that  time.  To  Fr.  Serra’s  proposals  he  replied 
that  the  men  were  exhausted  from  the  late  journey;  that, 
furthermore,  he  did  not  know  whether  the  mission  would 
be  permanent,  because  he  had  determined,  if  by  the  feast 
of  St.  Joseph,  March  19,  the  ship  did  not  arrive  with  sup- 
plies, to  begin  the  return  march  for  Lower  California  on 
the  following  day ; there  were  not  sufficient  provisions  on 
hand  to  warrant  waiting  any  longer,11  he  declared,  and  his 
men  had  not  come  to  perish  from  hunger. 

On  hearing  this,  Fr.  Presidente  retired  to  his  hut. 
Nothing  more  was  done  in  the  way  of  building;  only  an 


11  But  Pedro  Fages  and  Miguel  Costanso,  on  February  7,  jointly 
wrote  to  Galvez:  “That  they  (the  troops  remaining)  could  hold  this 
port  until  the  arrival  of  one  of  the  packetboats  San  Jose  or  the 
Principe  ( San  Antonio ) which  we  are  expecting  daily” — “podra  con- 
servar  este  Puerto  hasta  la  venida  de  uno  de  los  paeabotes  el  San 
Jose  6 FA  Principe  ( San  Antonio)  que  esperamos  de  dia  a otro.  ” — 
Archivo  General,  66. 


Mission  San  Diego 


33 


enclosure  of  poles  or  sticks  was  erected  to  serve  as  a 
corral  for  the  horses.  Nevertheless,  Fr.  Serra  had  no  mind 
to  give  up  California.  He  had  come  to  stay  and  stay  he 
would,  even  if  all  others  retired.  Thus  resolved,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  enlist  the  assistance  of  the  heroic  captain  of  the 
San  Carlos.  On  learning  from  Fr.  Serra  what  Portola  had 
decided  and  the  reasons  that  actuated  him,  Captain  Vila 
declared  he  was  not  of  the  same  opinion ; on  the  contrary, 
he  would  wait  for  the  relief  ship  which  he  was  sure  would 
come.  Then  he  would  proceed  in  search  of  Monterey  Bay. 
because  from  what  he  had  heard  of  the  late  expedition 
he  was  convinced  that  it  had  actually  been  at  the  port 
without  recognizing  it.  Fr.  Serra  and  Vila,  therefore, 
agreed  to  stay,  even  if  Portola  insisted  on  abandoning  the 
country.  Accordingly,  the  Fr.  Presidente  decided  to  let 
two  of  the  four  Fathers  accompany  the  party  back  to 
Lower  California,  while  he  and  Fr.  Juan  Crespi  would 
board  the  San  Carlos  and  there  await  the  arrival  of  her 
sister  ship.12 

In  a long  letter  to  Fr.  Palou,  dated  February  10,  1770, 
Fr.  Serra  went  over  the  situation  at  San  Diego  and  then 
concluded:  “Four  Fathers,  Fr.  Juan  Crespi,  Fr.  Fernando 

Parron,  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez,13  and  I,  are  here,  ready  to 
found  a second  mission,  if  the  ships  arrive.  Should  we  see 
that  hope  and  supplies  are  vanishing,  I shall  remain  here 
alone  with  Fr.  Juan  Crespi  and  hold  out  to  the  very  last. 
May  God  give  us  His  holy  grace.  Recommend  us  to  God 
that  so  it  may  be.  If  Your  Reverence  should  find  that 
they  are  bringing  up  the  cattle  which  remained  at  Velicata,14 
send  us  a small  quantity  of  incense ; for,  though  we  brought 
the  censers,  the  incense  was  forgotten.  The  Ordos  might 


12  See  Appendix  C. 

is  Fr.  Vizcaino,  being  in  ill  health,  had  accompanied  Captain  Rivera 
to  Lower  California.  Rivera  had  been  ordered  by  Portola  to  bring 
up  supplies  from  Velicata,  and  had  started  out  February  11.  See 
Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  ii,  p.  61. 
ii  This  refers  to  Rivera’s  errand. 


34  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


be  sent,  too,  if  they  have  arrived,  likewise  the  new  holy 
Oils,15  in  case  they  have  come  from  Guadalajara.  The 
Diaries  will  be  rewritten  as  quickly  as  possible,  mine  as 
well  as  Fr.  Juan’s.  I regret  very  much  that  they  can  not 
go  now ; but  comforts  here  are  meager,  so  that  the  mood 
for  writing  is  at  times  unfavorable.  We  shall  try,  how- 
ever, and  send  them  off  as  soon  as  possible.  I should  like  to 
tell  Your  Reverence  many  things,  but  encompassed  by  so 
many  disturbances  and  obstacles,  I can  not  explain  nor 
write  more.” 16  The  founder  of  the  California  Missions 
proved  as  resolute  and  courageous  in  pursuing  an  enter- 
prise as  he  was  zealous  and  God-fearing  in  undertaking  it. 

The  middle  of  March  was  already  drawing  near.  The 
supplies  had  so  diminished  that,  according  to  Portola,  the 
surplus  would  barely  suffice  to  reach  Velicata.  The  sole 
topic  of  conversation,  Fr.  Palou  tells  us,  was  now  the 
retreat  southward  and  the  consequent  abandonment  of  the 
missiqn  and  port ; and  every  word,  he  adds,  went  like  a 
shaft  to  the  heart  of  Fr.  Serra.  In  this  distress,  the  Father 
proposed  to  Commander  Portola  that  all  make  a novena  or 
nine  days’  devotion  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph.  Portola  agreed 
and  the  novena  was  begun;  just  enough  time  remained  to 
have  it  close  on  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  March  19. 

In-  his  holy  prayers,  during  these  days,  Fr.  Palou  relates, 
the  Fr.  Presidente  unceasingly  laid  the  matter  before  God. 
He  besought  His  Divine  Majesty  to  cause  the  ship  to  arrive 
before  the  day  assigned  for  the  retreat  of  the  expedition, 
in  order  that  the  opportunity  of  converting  so  many  pagans 
might  not  be  lost ; for,  if  their  conversion  were  not  accom- 
plished at  this  time,  it  might  become  impossible,  or  it  might 
again  be  delayed  for  ages,  in  which  case  thousands  upon 
thousands  would  fail  to  share  its  benefits.  The  good  Father 
remembered  that  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  Spaniards  reached  this  port.  If  now, 


15  James,  in  his  Fr.  Serra,  p.  90,  translates  “Santos  Oleos”  with 
“Holy  Wafers!” 

16  Palou,  Vida,  cap.  xix. 


THE  SHIP!  THE  SHIP!  CALIFORNIA  IS  SAVED! 


36  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

after  formal  possession  had  been  taken,  the  land  should 
be  abandoned,  centuries  might  come  and  go  before  the 
country  would  again  be  visited. 

At  length  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph  dawned;  but  no  ship 
was  in  sight.  One  may  imagine  the  feelings  of  the  venerable 
Fr.  Presidente,  who  still  had  hope,  though  hope  seemed  in 
vain.  In  the  morning  of  the  feast,  the  Spaniards  attended 
High  Mass  during  which  a sermon  was  preached,  doubtless 
by  Fr.  Serra  himself,  though  Fr.  Palou  forgot  to  say  so. 
All  preparations  for  the  march  to  Lower  California  were 
made  and  there  was  general  rejoicing  in  the  camp  and  in 
the  mission.  By  noon  of  the  next  day,  Portola  and  his  men 
would  be  on  their  way  to  the  south.  Only  Fr.  Serra  and 
the  few  who  shared  his  mind  seemed  depressed  and  disap- 
pointed. Had  St.  Joseph  failed  to  hear  their  prayer?  But 
no ; his  feast  was  not  yet  over ; and  with  unyielding  confi- 
dence the  noble  Father  trusted  that  the  ship  would  come. 
Nor  did  he  trust  in  vain.  That  same  day,  before  the  setting 
of  the  sun,  Fr.  Palou  tells  us,  Almighty  God,  through  the  in- 
tercession of  the  Most  Holy  Patriarch  St.  Joseph,  was  pleased 
to  gratify  the  ardent  desire  of  his  servant,  thus  filling  all 
with  consolation.  All  day  long,  Fr.  Serra  had  been  watching 
the  entry  into  the  bay;  at  last,  toward  evening,  he  clearly 
and  distinctly  observed  a ship  passing  the  gate  of  the  port. 
It  was  but  a glimpse,  so  to  speak,  but  it  sufficed  to  cause 
Portola  to  postpone  the  departure  of  the  troops.  Words 
can  not  describe  the  rejoicings  of  the  missionaries  and  espe- 
cially the  heartfelt  gratitude  of  their  Superior.  Portola  and 
his  men  were  wholly  changed.  All  now  encouraged  one 
another  to  persevere.  Finally,  after  four  days,  the  San 
Antonio  came  sailing  into  the  harbor.  Almighty  God,  in 
honor  of  the  holy  Patriarch  St.  Joseph,  had  wrought  a 
miracle  to  prevent  the  abandonment  of  California.  Such 
at  least  was  the  conviction  of  all  at  San  Diego,  especially 
when  the  captain  of  the  San  Antonio  explained  what  had 
brought  him  to  the  harbor  of  San  Diego.  He  had  received 
instructions  from  Galvez  to  sail  directly  for  Monterey 
where  he  would  find  the  land  expedition  waiting  for  supplies. 


Mission  San  Diego 


37 


That  was  thje  reason  why  his  ship,  on  March  19,  had  sailed 
past  the  port  of  San  Diego  instead  of  stopping  there.  So 
the  vessel  sailed  on ; but  as  Divine  Providence  directed, 
she  lost  one  of  her  anchors,  and  Captain  Perez  was  com- 
pelled to  turn  back  to  San  Diego  where  he  could  provide 
himself  with  an  anchor  from  the  San  Carlos , which,  he 
knew,  was  still  in  the  bay. 

In  gratitude  for  the  timely  aid  a High  Mass  was  celebrated. 
Furthermore,  Fr.  Serra  directed  that  thereafter,  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  every  month,  a High  Mass  or  at  least  a Low  Mass 
should  be  offered  up  to  God  in  honor  of  St.  Joseph.17 

As  the  San  Antonio'  had  brought  abundant  supplies, 
Captain  Vila  and  Commander  Portola  agreed  that  two  expedi- 
tions should  again  set  out  in  search  of  Monterey  Bay,  one 
by  land  and  one  by  sea.  Fr.  Serra  was  to  make  the  voyage 
by  sea,  while  Fr.  Crespi  was  selected  for  the  land  expedition, 
which  Portola  once  more  commanded.  On  the  eve  of  sail- 
ing, and  on  board  the  ship,  Fr.  Serra  penned  an  interesting 
letter,  from  which  we  cull  the  following  as  especially  interest- 
ing: 

Rev.  Fr.  Lector  and  President e,  Fr.  Francisco  Palou. 

Dearly  beloved  Friend,  Companion,  and  Senor: 

The  San  Antonio,  formerly  called  El  Principe,  having  arrived  at 
this  port  on  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  although  she  did  not  enter 
until  four  days  later,  the  officials  determined  on  a second  trip  to 
Monterey.  Fr.  Juan  Crespi  goes  a second  time  by  land,  while  I go 
by  sea.  Very  late  yesterday,  Holy  Saturday,  while  thinking  the  ship 
would  not  leave  so  soon  (although  I had  already  embarked  everything 
I wanted  to  take  along,  except  my  bed),  I received  notice  from  our 
countryman,  Captain  Juan  Perez,  that  we  should  have  to  board  the 
ship  that  same  night.  I wrent  aboard,  and  now  we  are  here  at  the 
entrance  of  the  port.  Ever  since  I celebrated  holy  Mass  on  board 
ship  early  this  morning,  the  men  have  been  at  work  setting  the  sails. 
Fathers  Parron  and  Gomez  ^remain  at  San  Diego  as  missionaries. 
With  them  will  stay  a few  soldiers  wTho,  wTe  notice,  have  not  recovered 
as  fully  as  the  rest  of  us.  Like  the  guards,  I and  Fr.  Juan  Crespi 
are  going  with  the  intention  of  separating,  one  for  Monterey  and 
the  other  for  San  Buenaventura,  about  eighty  leagues  distant,  in 
order  that  neither  through  our  fault  nor  that  of  the  College  the 


17  Palou,  Vida,  capp.  xx,  xxi.  See  Appendix  C. 


38  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


erection  of  that  third  mission  of  this  New  California  may  be 
frustrated.  In  truth,  for  me  the  greatest  of  all  hardships  will  be 
the  consequent  solitude ; but  God  in  His  infinite  mercy  will  make 
good  the  loss.  ...  I am  writing  this  letter  with  considerable 
difficulty,  seated  on  the  fioor  of  this  cabin.  I have  to  do  the  same 
with  the  enclosed  letter  to  His  Excellency  Don  Jose  de  Galvez.  It 
is  very  short,  but  it  gives  an  account  of  myself.  By  this  bark  (San 
Antonio),  I have  not  received  even  a note,  much  less  a letter,  from 
any  one. 

Verbally,  we  have  received  news  of  the  death  of  our  Holy  Father 
Clement  XIII,  and  of  the  election  of  the  most  excellent  Cardinal 
Ganganelli,  one  of  our  religious.  Dominus  conservet  eum,  etc.  This 
information  has  pleased  me  very  much  in  this  solitude.  ...  I have 
likewise  heard  of  the  death  of  Fr.  Moran, 18  for  whom  we  are  offering 
the  holy  Masses  according  to  our  agreement.  The  reason  why  no 
letters  came,  it  is  said,  is  because  this  vessel  was  to  sail  directly  for 
Monterey  without  touching  here;  wherefore,  all  letters  intended  for  us 
at  San  Diego  have  been  left  behind  in  order  that  the  packetboat 
San  Jose  might  bring  them  up;  but  she  has  not  yet  arrived.19  A year 
has  already  passed  by,  since  I had  any  news  from  the  College  or 
from  His  Lordship  Don  Galvez.  Soon  it  will  be  a year  since  I 
received  a letter  from  Your  Reverence.  ...  I shall  appreciate  it, 
if  you  would  provide  us,  when  there  is  an  opportunity,  with  some 
beeswax  for  the  holy  Masses  and  with  some  incense.  ...  I close 
this  letter  to-day,  Monday  after  Easter  Sunday,  the  day  of  the 
profession  of  our  holy  Father  St.  Francis,20  because  yesterday  we 
did  not  leave  the  mouth  of  the  bay  after  all,  owing  to  a change  in 
the  wind.  . . . South  Sea,  in  front  of  the  Port  of  San  Diego, 

April  16,  1770.  . . . Fr.  Junipero  Serra.2i 

Leaving  Sergeant  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega  at  San  Diego 
together  with  eight  soldiers,  twelve  Lower  California  ne- 
ophytes, and  Fathers  Parron  and  Gomez,  the  San  Antonio, 
with  Fr.  Serra,  Miguel  Costanso,  and  Doctor  Pedro  Prat  on 
board,  put  to  sea  on  April  16,  while  the  land  expedition  com- 
prising Commander  Portola,  Fr.  Crespi,  Lieutenant  Pedro 
Fages,  nineteen  soldiers,  five  Lower  California  neophytes  and 
two  muleteers,  set  out  on  April  I/.  In  the  harbor  lay  the 
San  Carlos,  on  board  of  which  were  Captain  Vicente  Vila, 


is  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  i,  p.  292. 

19  The  ship  was  lost  at  sea  and  never  heard  from. 

20  St.  Francis  made  his  vows  or  profession,  on  April  16,  1209. 

21  Letter  entire  in  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  66-6$. 


Mission  San  Diego 


39 


his  pilot,  and  five  sailors.  In  June,  Captain  Rivera  came  up 
from  the  peninsula  with  twenty  soldiers,  bringing  from 
Velicata  a drove  of  cattle  and  the  supplies  for  which  they 
had  been  despatched  the  preceding  February. 

The  two  expeditions  eventually  reached  Monterey.  After 
seeing  the  mission  and  presidio  established,  Portola,  on  July 
9,  took  passage  in  the  San  Antonio  and,  without  stopping 
at  San  Diego,  hastened  on  to  San  Bias.  On  learning  this, 
Captain  Vila  of  the  San  Carlos,  after  waiting  fifteen  months 
to  obtain  a fresh  crew,  asked  Captain  Rivera  for  one  soldier 
and  two  vaqueros  who  knew  a little  about  navigation.  With 
these  and  her  five  sailors  on  board,  the  San  Carlos,  in  the 
beginning  of  August,  1770,  at  last  sailed  away  for  San  Bias. 
A few  days  after  reaching  that  port,  the  good  captain  took 
sick  and  died.  He  was  a native  of  Andalucia,  and  a pilot 
of  the  first  class  in  the  Spanish  navy.22 

Owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  San  Diego  registers 
during  an  Indian  assault,  which  will  be  told  later,  nothing 
is  known  regarding  the  activity  of  the  two  Fathers  in 
charge  of  the  mission  at  this  period.  However,  “prior  to 
April,  1770,”  as  Bancroft  remarks,  “a  full  year  from  the 
first  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  and  perhaps  to  a still  later 
period,  for  the  register  was  subsequently  destroyed,  and  the 
earliest  date  is  not  known,  not  a single  neophyte  was  en- 
rolled at  the  mission.  In  all  the  missionary  annals  of  the 
northwest  there  is  no  other  instance  where  paganism  re- 
mained so  long  so  stubborn.”  23  It  is  therefore,  impossible 
to  say  when  the  first  converts  yielded  to  the  kindly  ministra- 
tions of  the  Gospel  messengers,  although  Fr.  Palou  writes 
that  by  March  12,  1771,  “the  mission  already  had  some 
baptized  neophytes.”  24 

On  this  day,  March  12,  a noteworthy  incident  occurred. 
Ten  Franciscans  from  Mexico  landed  at  San  Diego  and 


22  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  71-81 ; Bancroft, 
vol.  i,  p.  128. 

23  Bancroft,  California,  vol.  i,  p.  139. 

24  1 1 Que  ya  tenia  bautizados  algunos  neofitos,  * ’■ — Palou,  Vida,  p.  115. 


40  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

received  a hearty  welcome  from  Fathers  Parron  and  Gomez. 
These  newcomers  were  Fr.  Antonio  Paterna,  who  acted  as 
Superior  of  the  missionary  band  until  they  reached  their 
destination,  and  the  Fathers  Antonio  Cruzado,  Francisco 
Dumetz,  Angel  Somera,  Miguel  Pieras,  Buenaventura  Sitjar, 
Domingo  Juncosa,  Jose  Cavalier,  Luis  Jayme,  and  Pedro 
Benito  Cambon.  Fathers  Somera  and  Cambon  had  already 
served  in  the  missions  of  Lower  California.  After  the 
supplies  for  camp  and  mission  were  brought  on  shore,  the 
Fathers  again  embarked  on  the  San  Antonio  in  order  to 
report  for  duty  to  Fr.  Presidente  Serra  at  Monterey.  Fr. 
Gomez,  who  had  received  permission  to  retire  on  account 
of  ill  health,  also  took  passage,  because  he  feared  the  ship 
might  not  return  to  San  Diego  and  he  would  have  to  wait 
a year  for  another  opportunity.  By  direction  of  Fr.  Paterna, 
Fr.  Dumetz  for  the  present  took  his  place  at  San  Diego. 
This  appointment  was  made  permanent  by  Fr.  Serra  who, 
moreover,  asked  Fr.  Jayme  to  replace  Fr.  Parron,  because 
the  latter  was  likewise  ill  and  hoped  to  recover  his  health 
in  Lower  California. 

The  San  Antonio  sailed  from  Monterey  on  July  7,  1771, 
having  on  board  Pedro  Fages,  now  Captain  and  Military 
Commander  of  Upper  California.  With  him  came  Fathers 
Paterna  and  Cruzado,  who  were  destined  for  Mission  San 
Buenaventura,  still  to  be  founded;  likewise,  Fathers  Somera 
and  Cambon,  who  were  to  establish  Mission  San  Gabriel ; 
then,  Fr.  Gomez,  who  was  returning  to  the  College  in 
Mexico;  and  Fr*.  Luis  Jayme,  who  was  appointed  for  Mis- 
sion San  Diego.  After  a week’s  sailing,  on  July  14,  this 
distinguished  company  landed  at  San  Diego.  Soon  after, 
Captain  Rivera  withdrew  overland  to  the  peninsula,  Fr. 
Parron  probably  accompanying  him.25 

Reporting  to  Viceroy  De  Croix  on  July  17,  1771,  Fages 
wrote : 

I find  that  this  Mission  (of  San  Diego)  has  made  a good,  beginning 
as  regards  temporary  buildings  and  cultivation.  Also  the  cattle, 


25  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  84-86. 


Mission  San  Diego 


4i 


which  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  left  here  when  he  departed,  are  in 
good  condition.  There  are  eighty-two  cows,  seven  bulls,  eight  heifers 
of  two  years,  and  thirteen  calves.  I find  also  thirteen  mules.  There 
are  only  thirteen  soldiers  with  the  corporal,  who,  it  seems  to  me,  are 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  Mission. 

A day  later,  July  18,  Fages  informed  De  Croix : 

The  drove  of  cattle  from  Lower  California,  besides  sixty  mules, 
guarded  by  twenty  soldiers  and  five  muleteers,  have  arrived.  This 
will  enable  me  to  facilitate  the  founding  of  the  Missions  of  San 
Gabriel  and  San  Buenaventura.  This  I shall  do  at  once,  and  distribute 
to  each  mission  the  requisite  cattle  and  mules.  Thus  I shall  leave  them 
in  a good  state  of  defense. 26 

The  San  Antonio  sailed  for  San  Bias  on  July  21.  Next 
day,  nine  soldiers  and  one  muleteer  deserted.  Fr.  Paterna 
was  asked  by  Fages  to  reason  with  the  men  and  to  offer 
them  a full  pardon  if  they  returned.  The  good  Father 

overtook  the  deserters  and  persuaded  them  to  go  back. 
On  the  night  of  August  6,  however,  after  Fathers  Somera 
and  Benito  Cambon  had  set  out  for  San  Gabriel  with  ten 
soldiers  and  a mule  train  carrying  the  goods  for  the  new 
mission,  five  soldiers  and  their  corporal  deserted  from  the 
camp.  They  returned  on  August  24,  but  only  to  steal  some 
cattle  from  the  mission.  This  enraged  Fages  and  he  resolved 
to  follow  them  in  person ; but  on  discovering  that  the  de- 
serters had  intrenched  themselves  and  that  they  were  de- 
termined to  resist  capture,  the  commander  went  back  to  San 
Diego  and  asked  Fr.  Dumetz  to  intervene;  the  missionary 
complied  and  succeeded  in  bringing  back  the  deserters. 

On  October  3,  Fr.  Somera  came  down  from  the  newly- 
established  Mission  of  San  Gabriel.  He  was  accompanied 
by  three  guards,  because  experience  had  taught  the  Fathers 
not  to  venture  alone  on  the  road.  The  purpose  of  his  visit 
was  to  obtain  additional  guards  for  his  mission.  Fages 
granted  him  two  more,  and  with  these,  on  October  9,  Fr. 
Somera  reached  San  Gabriel.27 


26  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  p.  90 ; Archivo  General,  66. 

27  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  p.  90;  Palou,  Noticias, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  294-298. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Privation  of  Missionaries. — The  Dearth  of  Provisions  at  All  Missions. — 
Transports  Arrive. — Governor  Fages’s  Interference. — Fr.  Serra  Goes 
to  Mexico. — Successful. — He  Returns. — San  Diego  a Presidio. — 
Fr.  Palou  and  Other  Fathers  Arrive. — His  Letter. — First  Neophyte 
Woman  Arrives  from  Lower  California. — She  Teaches  Dress- 
making.— Fr.  Palou  Goes  North. — The  Alabado. — First  Report. — 
The  Mission. — The  Indians. — The  Presidio. — The  Country. — Live 
Stock. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Report. — Removal  of  Mission  Proposed. — Dis- 
pute.— Fr.  Serra’s  Representation. — Fr.  Jaume’s  Letter. — Proposes 
Removal  of  Mission. — The  New  Mission. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Description. 

IT  may  be  truly  said,  as  Fr.  Palou  remarks,  that  from  the 
beginning  the  two  Fathers  stationed  at  Mission  San 
Diego  had  to  “sustain  themselves  with  the  bread  of  affliction 
and  the  vraters  of  distress.” 1 Worldly  inducements  would 
never  have  sufficed  to  keep  them  at  their  post.  Only  utter 
unselfishness,  heroic  self-denial,  and  firm  religious  convic- 
tions, supported  by  supernatural  grace,  enabled  them  to 
persevere.  Early  in  1772,  the  deplorable  conditions  threat- 
ened the  very  abandonment  of  the  undertaking  inasmuch 
as  it  was  a sheer  impossibility  to  continue  the  work  much 
longer.  In  order  to  stave  off  this  disaster,  Fr.  Dumetz, 
with  Fr.  Cambon  of  San  Gabriel,  hastened  to  Lower  Cali- 
fornia for  supplies.  By  the  middle  of  March,  letters  ar- 
rived at  Monterey  notifying  Fr.  Serra  and  Don  Pedro  Fages 
that  the  situation  at  San  Diego  was  growing  intolerable, 
as  for  a long  time  the  two  missionaries  had  been  subsisting 
every  day  on  half  a pint  of  corn,  twenty  ounces  of  flour 
and  a little  milk.  Such  a state  of  affairs  rendered  the  pagan 
Indians  only  more  reluctant  to  accept  the  white  man’s  Re- 
ligion which,  they  argued,  provided  no  better  than  their 
own  for  bodily  needs.  Fages  immediately  sent  a train  of 
pack-mules  with  2,400  pounds  of  flour  to  San  Diego  and 
to  San  Gabriel,  where  also  the  dearth  of  provisions  was 


1 III  Kings,  xxii,  27. 


Mission  San  Diego 


43 


felt.  Fr.  Serra  directed  Fr.  Crespi  to  accompany  the  mule- 
teers southward  and  to  stay  there  until  Fr.  Dumetz  should 
return  from  Lower  California. 

Writing  to  Fr.  Palou,  under  date  of  May  21,  1772,  Fr. 
Crespi  says:  “I  passed  by  way  of  San  Gabriel  Mission  and 
found  that  the  Fathers  had  tightened  the  cord  around  their 
waist.  ...  At  San  Diego,  I found  very  few  victuals. 
There  were  only  seven  fanegas  of  corn  and  about  two  hun- 
dred pounds  of  flour.  The  guards  for  a long  time  main- 
tained themselves  with  half  a pint  of  corn  and  only  twenty 
ounces  of  flour  a day  ; the  Fathers  likewise,  with  a little 
milk.  They  say  that  thus  they  have  passed  most  of  the 
year,  without  lard,  without  tallow,  without  even  a candle 
of  this  kind,  and  even  without  wine  for  the  holy  Masses, 
so  that  holy  Mass  is  celebrated  only  on  Sundays  and  on 
days  of  obligation.  God  grant  that  Fr.  Dumetz  arrive 
promptly  with  help  for  these  missions  and  that  the  ships 
bring  up  supplies ; otherwise,  we  are  lost.” 

• Finally,  during  the  month  of  August,  the  supply  ships, 
San  Carlos  and  San  Antonio,  arrived  in  the  harbor  and 
thus  put  an  end  to  the  period  of  semi-starvation ; but  now 
the  northern  missions  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  San  Antonio,  and 
San  Carlos,  where  the  lack  of  food  had  necessitated  a 
general  bear  hunt,  were  threatened.  On  account  of  con- 
trary winds,  the  two  captains  of  the  newly  arrived  ships 
refused  to  take  the  provisions  to  Monterey.  They  proposed 
that  the  supplies  be  taken  up  by  pack  mules,  a distance  of 
nearly  five  hundred  miles ! This  it  was  that  brought  both 
Captain  Fages  and  Fr.  Serra  to  San  Diego,  on  September 
16,  1772.  The  Fr.  Presidente  at  length  persuaded  Captain 
Perez  to  brave  the  winds  and  not  to  impose  superhuman 
burdens  on  the  poor  missionaries.  Perez,  therefore,  put  to 
sea  and  reached  Monterey  without  the  least  mishap.  Mean- 
while, Fr.  Dumetz  returned  with  additional  provisions  and 
a flock  of  sheep,  the  first,  it  seems,  that  came  to  Upper 
California.  With  him  arrived  Fr.  Tomas  de  la  Pena  to 
replace  Fr.  Cambon  at  San  Gabriel,  who  retired  on  account 
of  ill  health;  but  Fr.  Serra  sent  Fathers  Crespi  and  Dumetz 


44  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


to  San  Carlos  and  had  Fr.  Pena  remain  with  Fr.  Luis 
Jayme  at  Mission  San  Diego.2 

While  at  San  Diego,  Fr.  Presidente  reminded  Don  Pedro 
Fages  that  the  viceroy  desired  the  founding  of  three  more 
missions,  and  that  the  time  had  come  for  executing  the 
orders  of  Don  Jose  de  Galvez,  regarding  Mission  San 
Buenaventura,  for  which  the  Inspector-General  himself  had 
packed  the  requisite  church  goods  more  than  three  years 
before.  To  the  Father’s  surprise,  Fages,  who  ever  since 
his  promotion  had  conceived  lofty  ideas  of  his  importance, 
curtly  replied  that  such  matters  pertained  to  the  commander 
of  California  and  not  to  the  missionaries.  This  was  revers- 
ing things,  generally ; for,  not  the  military  commander,  but 
Fr.  Serra  had  been  directed  to  found  and  to  control  the 
missionary  establishments,  while  the  soldiers  were  supposed 
to  aid  in  the  work  as  far  as  the  missionaries  should  deem 
it  expedient.  In  fact,  the  military  commander  had  re- 
ceived instructions  to  that  effect.  At  a council  held  by. 
the  four  Fathers  at  the  mission,  it  was  decided  that  the 
Fr.  Presidente  proceed  to  Mexico  and  explain  the  situation 
to  the  viceroy ; for  Fages  had  on  several  occasions  shown 
an  inclination  to  interfere  with  the  management  of  the  mis- 
sions. On  October  20,  1772,  Fr.  Serra,  taking  along  an 
Indian  youth  from  Monterey,  sailed  away  in  the  San  Carlos 
and  reached  the  College  of  San  Fernando,  Mexico,  just  in 
time  to  prevent  the  closing  of  the  Port  of  San  Bias.  His 
errand  was  most  successful,  too,  on  the  matters  which  he 
desired  to  lay  before  the  viceroy.  Asked  to  present  his 
wishes  in  writing,  Fr.  Serra  drew  up  his  famous  Repre- 
sentation, in  which  under  thirty-two  heads  he  exposed  the 
conditions  in  California.  Almost  everything  he  wished  was 
granted.  The  chief  point  at  issue,  the  independent  manage- 
ment of  the  Indians  at  the  missions,  was  likewise  decided 


2 Palou,  Vida,  capp.  xxx-xxxiii;  Noticias,  vol.  iii,  pp.  25-27;  31-32; 
Father  Crespi,  in  Out  West,  January,  1902,  pp.  56-57;  see  also  Mis- 
sions and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  100-104. 


Mission  San  Diego 


45 


in  his  favor.  It  was  declared  that  the  missionaries  had 
the  right  to  control  the  mission  Indians  as  a father  controls 
his  family.  This  decision  alone  amply  rewarded  the  pain- 
ful journey  of  the  aged  Fr.  Presidente  .to  Mexico.  Highly 
favored  by  Viceroy  Bucareli  in  other  ways,  Fr.  Serra  re- 
turned to  San  Diego  on  March  13,  1774,  accompanied  by 
the  same  Indian  youth,  who  had  received  the  Sacrament  of 
Confirmation  at  the  hands  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico. 
He  was  the  first  of  the  Californians  to  be  so  favored.  Fr. 
Pablo  Mugartegui  also  came  along;  but  being  in  ill  health, 
he  remained  at  the  mission.3 

While  in  Mexico,  Fr.  Serra  had  offered  some  proposi- 
tions to  the  viceroy,  touching  the  military  system  of  Cali- 
fornia. Accordingly,  on  July  23,  1773,  the  latter  approved 
a new  reglamento,  which  went  into  effect  on  January  1, 
1774.  Thereafter,  the  military  department  of  Upper  Cali- 
fornia was  to  consist  of  the  presidios  .of  Monterey  and  of 
San  Diego.  The  commander  of  the  garrison  at  Monterey, 
with  the  rank  of  captain  and  a salary  of  $3000,  was  to 
have  command  over  all  the  troops  in  Upper  California. 
The  military  camp  at  San  Diego,  now  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  a presidio,  comprised  a lieutenant  with  a salary  of  $700 
a year ; one  sergeant  at  $450 ; two  corporals  at  $400  each ; 
twenty-two  soldiers  at  $365  each ; two  carpenters  to  serve 
the  presidio  and  the  mission  at  $300  each ; two  blacksmiths 
for  the  same  purpose  at  $300  each ; and  a storekeeper  at 
$1000  a year.  In  addition,  five  corporals  at  a salary  of  $400 
each  and  twenty-five  soldiers  at  a salary  of  $365  each 
guarded  the  five  missions  thus  far  established.  Captain 
Fernando  Rivera  y Moncada,  then  in  Lower  California,  was 
appointed  to  succeed  Fages  and  to  reside  at  Monterey. 
Sergeant  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega,  then  also  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, was  named  commander  of  the  new  presidio  at  San 
Diego  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant.  Don  Rafael  Pedro  Gil 
received  the  appointment  of  storekeeper.4 


s For  details  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  104-121. 

4 See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  121-122;  132. 


46  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

In  the  meantime,  after  delivering  the  missions  of  Lower 
California  to  the  Dominican  Fathers,  Fr.  Francisco  Palou, 
on  August  30,  1773,  arrived  at  San  Diego  together  with 
Fathers  Gregorio  Amurrio,  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen, 
Juan  Prestamero,  Vicente  Fuster,  and  Jose  Antonio  Mur- 
guia.  They  were  escorted  by  a guard  in  command  of  the 
new  lieutenant,  Francisco  de  Ortega.  The  newcomers  were 
welcomed  with  demonstrations  of  the  greatest  joy,  the  sol- 
diers discharging  firearms  and  artillery,  and  the  guards  re- 
sponding in  kind.  “The  neophyte  Indians,” 5 Fr.  Palou 
writes,  “greeted  us  with  their  sweet  canticles  in  praise  of 
our  God  whom  but  a short  time  before  they  had  not 
known.” 

In  the  absence  of  Fr.  Serra,  who  was  still  at  the  capital 
of  Mexico,  Fr.  Palou  assumed  the  duties  of  presidente  or 
superior  of  the  missions.  Fr.  Pena,  who  had  assisted  Fr. 
Jayme  temporarily,  desired  to  be  transferred;  he  was,  there- 
fore, replaced  by  Fr.  Fuster.  For  the  present,  Fr.  Amurrio 
remained  at  San  Diego  as  supernumerary. 

While  detained  at  this  mission,  where  he  was  awaiting 
the  train  of  pack  mules,  which  he  had  asked  Captain  Fages 
to  dispatch  from  Monterey  to  fetch  the  supplies  and  church 
goods  at  Velicata,  Fr.  Palou  writes:  “We  searched  for  land 
better  suited  for  cultivation.  Not  finding  any  that  could 
be  sufficiently  irrigated,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  running 
water,  it  was  determined  as  the  best  way  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty, in  order  that  the  mission  could  subsist,  to  sow  the 
wheat  and  trust  to  rain ; and  for  that  purpose  a locality 
was  selected  in  the  same  valley  of  the  San  Diego  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  though  out  of  danger  from  the  floods, 
about  two  leagues  from  the  mission ; for  it  had  been  noted 
that  in  said  locality  the  rains  begin  earlier  and  last  longer 
than  at  the  mission.  Furthermore,  in  case  of  lack  of  rains, 
water  could  be  drawn  with  little  labor  from  the  river. 
Hence  the  Fathers  immediately  commenced  to  prepare  the 
land  there  for  sowing  grain.  The  place  was  named  Nuestra 


s Eighty-three  Indians  had  been  baptized  by  this  time. 


Mission  San  Diego  47 

Senora  del  Pilar.”  It  is  identical  with  the  site  of  the  present 
mission  ruin. 

On  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Sep- 
tember 8,  then  a day  of  obligation,  Fr.  Palou  sang  the  High 
Mass,  and  afterwards  had  the  happiness  of  baptizing  eight 
convert  Indians.  A few  days  later,  Fr.  Murguia  bap- 
tized seven  more.  They  all  belonged  to  the  Rancheria  of 
Rincon,  about  half  a league  from  the  mission  on  the  road 
to  Monterey. 

September  19,  eighty-two  pack  mules,  some  of  which 
belonged  to  the  missions  of  San  Carlos,  San  Antonio,  and 
San  Luis  Obispo,  arrived  from  Monterey,  and,  three  days 
later,  on  September  22,  they  were  sent  down  to  Velicata 
in  charge  of  Sergeant  Ortega  and  guards.6 

Before  setting  out  for  the  north,  Fr.  Palou  wrote  in  his 
journal:  “Inasmuch  as  this  mission  already  had  some  con- 
vert, Indians  doing  work,  I assigned  to  it  only  one  of  the 
six  neophyte  families  that  had  come  from  Lower  California, 
in  order  that  the  woman  might  teach  these  female  Indians 
how  to  spin  and  weave  the  wool  which  was  already  being 
gained  from  the  sheep  that  the  mission  possessed.”7  It 
will  be  remembered  that  discoverers  generally  described 
the  Indian  females  as  wearing  very  scanty  dress,  hardly 
more  than  an  apron  of  fibres.  In  such  a state  they  could 
not  be  permitted  to  enter  the  church  or  to  approach  the 
missionaries.  Since  no  tailor  or  dressmaker  was  available, 
the  poor  friars,  being  all  to  all,  had  to  show  the  uncouth 
creatures  how  to  make  the  simple  skirt  and  waist  that  would 
admit  them  to  decent  society.  No  doubt,  many  a misfit 
resulted ; but  that  did  not  trouble  the  dusky  ladies.  The 
main  thing  was  to  be  modestly  covered.  With  the  advent 
of  this  neophyte  woman,  however,  the  first  in  Upper  Cali- 
fornia, as  far  as  is  known,  the  Fathers  had  no  longer  to 
worry  on  this  score. 

On  September  26,  Fr.  Palou  with  the  rest  of  the  Fathers 


6 Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  i,  pp.  264-265. 

7 Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  i,  pp.  257,  261. 


Alabado. 


48  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

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Mission  San  Diego 


49 


and  five  Christian  Indian  families  departed  for  the  north. 
At  the  Rancheria  de  Rincon,  the  fifteen  converts,  whom 
Fathers  Palou  and  Murguia  had  baptized  at  the  mission, 
saluted  them  in  a manner  that  brought  tears  to  the  eyes 
of  the  traveling  religious.  “Kneeling  down  in  the  road,” 
Fr.  Palou  tells  us,  “these  poor  Indians,  who  till  a few  days 
before  had  been  savages,  knowing  nothing  about  God,  now 
as  children  of  the  Church  of  God  were  singing  the  Alabado! 
We  rewarded  them  with  a sack  of  pinole  (ground  corn) 
and  some  Rosarybeads.”  8 

At  an  early  date,  annual  reports  on  the  state  of  the  mis- 
sions were  demanded  by  the  viceroy  and  earnestly  solicited 
by  the  Fr.  Guardian  of  the  College  of  San  Fernando. 
“In  obedience  to  this  command/’  writes  Fr.  Palou,  “as  soon 
as  I reached  the  first  mission,  San  Diego,  I informed  my- 
self on  the  spiritual  and  temporal  affairs,  taking  note  of 
everything,  so  as  later  to  draw  up  a true  and  complete 
report.  This  same  care  I exercised  at  all  the  missions, 
and  when  I arrived  at  San  Carlos  de  Monterey,  on  Novem- 
ber 14,  1773,  I made  from  my  notes  the  account  which 
I dispatched  by  way  of  Lower  California  to  the  Guardian 
of  my  College,  together  with  a letter  dated  December  10, 
which  his  Reverence  was  to  deliver  to  his  Excellency,  the 
viceroy.  Inasmuch  as  in  the  said  report  the  state  of  each 
mission  is  described,  I copy  it  here.  It  makes  an  adequate 
and  complete  picture.”  9 * 

Such  is  the  introduction  to  the  most  valuable  first  report 
made  in  California  on  the  state  of  the  missions.  Regard- 
ing San  Diego,  Fr.  Palou  informs  the  viceroy: 

This  mission  was  founded  on  July  16,  1769.  It  is  situated  on  a 
high  elevation  (loma  or  bluff)  about  two  gunshots  from  the  beach 
( playa ),  looking  toward  Point  Guijarros  and  the  mouth  of  the  port 


8 Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  i,  p.  266 ; see  also  Missions  and  Missionaries , 
vol.  ii,  p.  128. — Alabado,  i.  e.  Canticle  of  Praise,  a kind  of  doxology. 
The  words  are,  1 1 Alabado  sea  el  Santisimo  Sacramento  del  Altar ; 
y Bendita  sea  la  Purisima  Concepcion  de  la  Beatisima  Yirgen  Maria.  ” 

9 Palou,  Informe,  December  10,  1773,  (S.  B.  A.).  See  Miss . s*  and 

Missionaries,  vol.  i,  p.  420;  vol.  ii,  pp.  137-139. 


50  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


named  San  Diego,  which  is  in  thirty-two  degrees  and  forty-two 

minutes  north  latitude.  The  beach,  as  also  the  vicinity  of  the  mission, 
is  well  peopled  by  savages,  since  within  a district  of  ten  leagues 

there  are  more  than  twenty  large  rancherias,  and  one  other  adjoining 

the  mission. 

In  the  beginning,  the  Indians  of  this  port  showed  themselves  very 
haughty  and  arrogant,  even  daring  to  assault  the  camp  when  they 
noticed  it  left  with  only  a small  number  of  soldiers,  the  majority 

of  whom  were  ill  at  the  time  when  the  expedition  (Portola’s)  started 
out  in  search  of  Monterey  Port;  but  they  retired  having  learnt  a good 
lesson  when  three  or  four  of  their  number  remained  dead  from  gun- 
shots and  many  more  were  wounded,  whereas  only  one  servant  of  the 
camp  and  mission  was  killed,  while  two  men  were  wounded,  one  of 
whom  was  a missionary  at  the  mission;  but  their  wounds  are  not 
dangerous.  This  frightened  the  Indians  and  for  a long  time  they 
would  not  approach  the  camp  and  mission.  However,  by  degrees,  they 
came  to  join  the  mission,  so  that  already  eighty-three  adults  and 
children  are  baptized,  seven  of  whom  died  recently,  while  twelve 
couples  were  married  and  are  now  living  in  the  village  composed  of 
dwellings  that  are  made  of  poles  and  tules.  With  them  live  also  the 
catechumens,  who  assist  punctually  every  day  at  the  catechism.  The 
pagans  of  other  rancherias  also  frequent  the  mission  and  are  present 
at  the  doctrina  or  catechism,  attracted  by  their  fondness  for  hearing 
the  neophytes  sing.io 

Within  the  stockade  is  the  church  or  chapel,  constructed  of  poles 
and  roofed  with  tules,  as  also  the  habitation  of  the  two  missionaries, 
having  the  requisite  rooms  partly  of  adobe  and  partly  of  wood  and 
roofed  with  tules. 

Likewise,  within  the  stockade,  is  a similar  structure  ( jacal ) that 
serves  as  the  barracks  for  the  soldier  -guards  and  as  a storehouse  for 
the  supplies.  For  defensive  purposes,  within  the  stockade,  are  two 
cannon  of  bronze.  One  looks  toward  the  port,  and  the  other  toward 
the  Indian  rancherla.  On  one  side  of  the  stockade,  in  the  wall,  is 
an  opening  for  the  foundations  of  a church  thirty  yards  ( varas ) long. 
For  this  some  stones  and  four  thousand  adobes  have  already  been 
prepared.  The  foremen  of  the  work  are  the  Fathers,  and  the 
workmen  are  the  neophytes,  who  labor  with  pleasure.  The  work  has 
now  stopped  for  want  of  provisions ; the  neophytes  saw  themselves 
obliged  to  retire  in  search  of  wild  frirts,  until  the  ship  arrives. 

As  this  mission  lacks  water  for  irrigating  the  extensive  and  fertile 
land  which  it  possesses,  the  inmates  must  suffer  want,  unless  the  crops 
turn  out  well.  The  first  two  years  have  proved  this.  In  the  first 
year,  the  river  rose  so  high  (though  it  has  running  water  near  the 


io“Assisten  (los  gentiles)  a la  doctrina  llevados  de  la  aficion  de 
oir  cantar  a los  neofitos.  ” 


Mission  San  Diego 


5i 

mission  only  in  the  rainy  season),  that  it  carried  away  all  that  had 
been  sown.  In  the  second  year,  planting  was  done  farther  back  of 
the  stream.  During  the  greater  part  of  that  season,  however,  the 
water  was  scarce  so  that  the  plants  perished.  Only  five  fanegas  11  of 
wheat  were  secured,  and  these  were  used  for  sowing  in  the  locality 
about  two  leagues  from  the  mission,  because  from  experience  it  wras 
learned  that  in  said  place  rain  was  more  frequent.  The  country  has 
been  surveyed  for  a distance  of  ten  leagues  in  every  direction;  but  no 
running  water  for  irrigation  has  been  discovered.  Only  for  the  live 
stock  is  there  in  various  places  sufficient  water  and  abundant  pasture. 

The  savages  subsist  on  the  seeds  of  the  zacate  (wild  grass)  wh’ch 
they  harvest  in  due  season.  From  these  they  make  sheaves  as  is  the 
custom  to  do  with  wheat.  They  also  live  by  fishing  and  by  hunting 
hares  and  rabbits  which  are  plentiful.  The  Missionary  Fathers  have 
sent  to  San  Bias  for  a canoe  and  a net  so  that  the  new  Christians 
might  subsist  on  fish.  If  this  succeeds,  it  will,  no  doubt,  be  a great 
relief. 

Of  the  cattle  which  came  for  these  new  missions  from  Lower  Cali- 
fornia by  order  of  Inspector-General  Jose  de  Galvez,  this  mission 
was  allowed  eighteen  head,  large  and  small.  In  the  beginning  of  last 
October  it  had  forty  head.  It  then  owned  also  seventy-four  head  of 
sheep,  fifty-five  goats,  nineteen  pigs,  fifteen  mares,  four  fillies,  one 
colt,  eight  tame  horses,  one  jackass,  six  donkeys,  four  riding  mules, 
and  eighteen  pack  mules  with  the  necessary  outfit. 

The  mission  possesses  twelve  plowshares  and  other  iron  implements. 
There  is  also  a sufficient  supply  of  tools  for  carpenters  and  for 
masons,  and  a forge  for  the  blacksmith,  although  there  are  no  me- 
chanics to  teach  these  crafts.12 

The  report  which  Fr.  Serra  made  for  the  viceroy  in 
Mexico  on  May  21,  1773,  agrees  with  the  preceding  account 
of  Fr.  Palou.  “In  spiritual  matters/’  he  adds,  “this  mis- 

sion, being  the  first  and  oldest,  is  the  most  advanced,  in- 
asmuch as  it  has  the  greater  number  of  Christians.  In  this 
respect,  I have  to  say  that  the  entire  rancheria,  which  made 
war  on  us  on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  our  Lady, 
in  1769,  is  already  Christian,  with  the  exception  of  a few 
old  people  who,  owing  to  their  greater  dullness,  were  still 
in  the  catechumen  class  when  I left  the  mission.  They  do 
not  fail,  however,  to  be  present  at  the  prayers.  Likewise, 


11  A fanega  is  equal  to  one  hundredweight. 

12  Palou,  Noticias,  vol.  iii,  pp.  227-232.  The  original  manuscript  is 
preserved  in  the  Santa  Barbara  Archives. 


52  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


of  the  other  distant  rancherias  some  are  baptized.  They 
have  their  habitations  immediately  outside  the  stockade  of 
the  mission.”  13 

Fr.  Serra,  accompanied  by  Fr.  Pablo  Mugartegui,  re- 
turned from  Mexico  and  arrived  at  San  Diego,  Saturday, 
March  13,  1774,  on  board  the  Santiago.  Both  Fathers  were 
heartily  welcomed  at  presidio  and  mission.  On  April  6, 
the  Fr.  Presidente  started  for  Monterey  overland,  leaving 
Fr.  Mugartegui  ill  at  the  mission.  On  account  of  an 
obstinate  stomach  trouble,  Fr.  Prestamero  embarked  for 
Mexico  on  the  San  Antonio,  which  sailed  August  4.  In 
May,  after  delivering  the  office  of  military  commander  to 
Rivera  at  Monterey,  Pedro  Fages  came  down  to  San  Diego 
by  land  and,  on  July  19,  1774,'  he  took  passage  on  the 
Santiago.141 

As  the  locality  in  which  Mission  San  Diego  had  been 
originally  founded  with  the  military  camp  close  by,  had 
proved  undesirable  on  account  of  the  lack  of  water  for  irri- 
gating, the  plan  to  transfer  it  to  a more  suitable  district 
was  discussed  at  an  early  date.  “The  first  proposition 
toward  a change  of  site  came  early  in  1773  from  Fages, 
who  favored  a removal  of  the  rancheria  containing  all  the 
neophytes  as  well  as  many  gentiles  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
stockade.  . . . The  measure  was  recommended  by  a man 

whose  approval  was  enough  to  condemn  it  in  Serra’s  eyes. 
Consequently  he  opposed  the  change  most  strenuously  in  his 
report  to  the  viceroy.”  15  This  statement  of  Bancroft  is  a 
gross  misrepresentation.  Neither  did  Fr.  Serra,  as  will  be 
seen  presently,  object  to  the  removal  of  the  entire  mission, 
i.  e.  of  the  mission  together  with  the  missionaries,  nor, 
as  will  also  be  seen,  was  Fages  the  first  to  propose  the 
measure.  What  this  official  wanted  was  the  removal  of  the 
Indians,  but  not  of  the  mission ; and  it  was  this  withdrawal 


13  Serra,  Representation,  May  21,  1773,  preserved  in  Santa  Barbara 
Archives. 

14  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  p.  133. 

15  Bancroft,  California,  vol.  i,  p.  229. 


Mission  San  Diego 


53 


of  the  convert  Indians  from  the  immediate  supervision  of 
the  Fathers,  quite  another  thing,  that  Fr.  Serra  boldly  set 
his  face  against.  But  Bancroft  will  have  his  customary 
fling  at  Fr.  Serra.  Let  us  hear  the  Fr.  Presidente  himself. 

“As  I had  not  seen  the  mission  since  its  first  beginning,” 
he  declares  in  his  Representation,  “I  greatly  rejoiced  at 
sight  of  such  a number  of  Christians.  . . . The  officer 

(Pedro  Fages),  however,  came  to  me  with  a deep  frown, 
in  order  to  criticize  the  Fathers  for  having  baptized  so 
many ; for  that  was  not  to  have  been  done  until  the  mis- 
sionaries had  raised  some  crops.  Doubtless,  it  vexed  him 
that  we  had  not  asked  him  for  provisions  on  their  behalf. 
So  insignificant  did  the  whole  settlement  of  Christians 
appear  to  him,  that  the  Fathers  obtained  not  as  much  as 
a spoonful  of  pozole  or  atole 16  from  the  two  well-loaded 
ships  in  the  harbor.  Hence,  too,  his  claim  that  all  the  little 
huts  of  those  Christians  and  of  the  catechumens  would  have 
to  be  removed  from  there,  and  that  the  neophytes  would 
have  to  live  farther  away  because,  as  he  alleged,  in  their 
present  shelters  they  might  become  formidable  enemies  and 
wage  war  on  the  presidio.  I strongly  opposed  this  arrange- 
ment, as  I have  already  informed  Your  Excellency  in  my 
letter  of  March  13.  Thereupon,  the  said  official,  concluded 
that  the  rancheria  or  mission  should  not  be  removed,  but 
that  he  would  report  my  resistance.  I earnestly  supplicate 
Your  Excellency,  if  such  a report  has  been  made,  to  let 
me  know  of  it  and  to  hear  my  side  before  I depart. 

“For  the  present,  I say  only  that  no  one  who  has  seen 
the  huts  and  their  surroundings,  heard  the  officer’s  reasons 
for  wanting  to  remove  the  huts  without  laughing,  except 
myself,  because  I did  not  feel  like  laughing  when  I saw 
efforts  made  to  destroy  for  the  sake  of  a mere  whim  what 
the  Fathers  had  put  up  with  so  much  labor,  and  what  all 
contemplate  with  such  pleasure.  . . . How  the  friars 


is  Gruel  or  porridge.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
254;  554-555. 


54  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


have  labored  and  are  still  laboring  God  knows  and  that 
suffices.  ” 17 

It  was,  as  we  said  before,  Fr.  Luis  Jayme  who  in  a letter 
formally  proposed  to  Fr.  Serra  the  removal  of  the  entire 
mission,  converts  and  missionaries,  to  another  site.  His 
reason  was  two-fold,  the  scarcity  of  water  and  the  prox- 
imity of  the  military  camp.  It  is  clear,  too,  that  he  had 
already  before  discussed  this  plan  with  the  Fr.  Presidente. 
Because  this  letter  addressed  to  Fr.  Serra,  who  was  then 
in  Mexico,  contains  so  much  of  interest,  and  because  it  is 
the  first  and  only  document  extant  of  California’s  proto- 
martyr, it  deserves  to  be  reproduced  entire. 

Viva  Jesus,  Maria  y Joseph! 

Very  Rev.  Father  Presiclente  Junipero  Serra: — The  Grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  be  with  Your  Reverence  and  with  me.  Amen. 

On  the  second  of  this  month  (of  April),  the  mail  reached  here  from 
Monterey  and  informed  us  of  the  safe  arrival  of  the  Principe  ( San 
Antonio).  It  seems  that  things  have  adjusted  themselves  well.  The 
more  Indians  come  here,  the  more  humble  they  show  themselves.  The 
pagans  give  more  signs  of  a desire  to  be  baptized.  A few  days  ago, 
all  the  boys  from  the  Rancheria  of  Rincon  came  to  learn  the  doctrina 
in  order  to  have  themselves  baptized;  but,  as  we  could  not  give  them 
atole  every  time  they  appeared,  the  quantity  of  corn  being  already 
very  small,  they  stopped  coming.  If  the  supply  ship  delays  a little 
longer  there  will  be  scarcely  enough  for  the  Christian  Indians  who 
are  with  us  from  Lower  California.  Hence  we  see  that,  if  we  can 
harvest  a little  wheat  from  what  has  been  sown,  we  shall  be  able  to 
baptize  those  who  apply.  We  have  sown  about  five  fanegas  of  wheat. 
It  rose  well  and  prospered,  until  the  month  of  January;  after  that, 
the  water  failed,  so  that  almost  everything  withered.  In  the  month 
of  March,  it  rained  on  two  occasions;  consequently,  a part  of  our 
sowing  recovered  and  now  stands  fairly  well;  but  hopes  of  harvest- 
ing anything  are  very  small;  for,  if  it  does  not  rain  much  in  this 
month  and  in  May,  nothing  may  be  harvested,  since  this  year  there 
is  a great  lack  of  water. 

Some  days  ago,  savages  informed  us  that  on  the  other  side  of  the 
sierras,  which  extend  toward  the  northeast  beyond  this  Canada  of  San 
Diego,  there  is  an  abundance  of  pine  timber,  of  live  oak,  and  of  a 
certain  very  tall  timber  which  we  could  not  classify  from  what  was 


17  “El  como  han  trabajado  los  Religiosos,  y trabajan,  lo  sabe  Dios, 
y esto  nos  basta.”  Serra.  at  close  of  Representacion. 


Mission  San  Diego 


55 

said ; and  that,  besides  much  grass  or  hay,  water  must  be  plentiful 
there  and  flowing  all  the  time.  The  other  day,  the  soldier  who  came 
from  Monterey  with  the  mail  told  me  that  he  had  been  there  and  that 
he  had  seen  much  pine  timber,  an  abundance  of  live  oak,  and  many 
stretches  of  land  not  mixed  with  alkali  or  saltpetre.  He  had  seen 

also  a large  arrovo  which  ran  with  water  all  the  year  round.  For  a 
mission,  he  said,  are  many  suitable  places,  as  beautiful  as  he  had 

ever  seen;  nothing  was  wanting,  rather  was  there  an  abundance  of 
everything  necessary  for  a mission.  Some  places,  he  said,  may  be  as 
much  as  six  or  seven  leagues  or  even  more  in  extent.  The  language 
of  the  savages  in  these  places  is  the  same  as  here,  and  they  have 

communication  with  our  Indians.  Indeed,  about  fifteen  days  ago, 
Indians  from  there  told  our  neophytes  that  they  should  accompany 
the  missionaries  and  bring  enough  mules  along,  in  order  to  load  them 
with  acorns,  since  they  had  enough  to  spare.  We  told  them  we  would 
go  there  when  warm  weather  sets  in.  In  fact,  we  nave  - determined  to 
go  and  survey  the  place  when  it  grows  warmer.  All  this  is  said  on 
the  authority  of  the  soldier  who  had  seen  the  place  and  told  us ; 

we  have  not  seen  it,  because  we  had  no  opportunity. 

We  were  thinking  whether  this  mission  could  not  be  moved,  while 
the  presidio  remained  here,  and  whether  storehouses  could  not  be 
erected  here  to  receive  the  goods  for  the  missions.  One  Father  could 
stay  here  to  administer  the  Sacraments  and  to  receive  the  supplies. 
Should  no  presidio  be  planted  here,  some  soldiers  could  stay,  in  order 
to  guard  the  port  and  the  ship  when  it  arrives.  In  case  the  presidio 
remains  here,  however,  it  is  not  expedient  that  it  be  near  the  mission, 
on  account  of  annoyances  of  which  Your  Reverence  is  aware. 

We  tell  you  this  because  it  seems  that  as  long  as  the  mission  is 
here,  it  will  never  have  a firm  basis.  Nor  should  there  be  a nr'ssion 
here,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  water;  for  we  see  that  this  year 
there  are  little  hopes  for  wheat.  Even  if  it  rains,  the  harvest  will 
be  very  small  and  very  poor,  owing  to  the  dry  season  through  which 
we  have  passed.  Last  year  the  flood  carried  away  what  was  growing. 
If,  by  the  month  of  May,  it  does  not  rain,  nothing  may  be  harvested; 
for  already  it  is  beginning  to  wither.  In  the  previous  year  it  began 
to  rain  in  the  middle  of  February,  as  the  soldiers  told  me  who  were 

here;  but  February  is  too  late  for  sowing  wheat,  and  when  the  time 

comes  for  planting  the  corn,  there  is  no  rain. 

In  the  year  of  the  expedition,  as  the  soldiers  relate,  the  arrovo  had 
no  water;  nor  did  it  rain.  The  arroyo  has  no  running  water  save 

when  it  rains;  for,  if  the  rain  delays  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  it  runs 

dry,  as  happened  this  year  and  in  the  past  year.  So,  when  both,  the 
season  and  the  river,  fail,  the  crops  must  needs  be  very  poor,  and 
without  harvests,  I do  not  see  how  the  mission  can  exist.  Hence,  Your 
Reverence  will  see  what  is  most  expedient  and  what  can  be  proposed. 
Also  to  Fathers  Uson  and  Figuer,  who  have  come  up  from  Lower 


56  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


California,  it  seems  that  if  the  mission  stays  here,  the  prospects  will 
be  poor;  and  it  will  be  a constant  source  of  affliction  for  the  Fathers 
who  are  stationed  here.  We  are  daily  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Fr. 
Presidente  Palou  and  of  the  other  Fathers  who  are  to  come  here. 
We  do  not  know  whether  or  not  they  are  on  the  way.  We  pray  God 
to  keep  you  in  His  holy  love  and  grace.  Mission  San  Diego,  April  3, 
1773.  B.  L.  M.  de  V.  R.,  your  ever  affectionate  friend  and  humble 
subject.  Fr.  Luis  Jayme.  (Rubrica.)  is 

In  the  end,  the  viceroy  authorized  the  transfer  of  the 
mission  to  another  site.  In  his  first  report  of  the  missions 
for  the  year  1774,  Fr.  Serra  says:  “It  was  determined  to 
move  the  mission  within  the  same  Canada  of  the  port  toward 
the  northeast  from  the  presidio,  at  a distance  of  a little  less 
than  two  leagues.  This  place  is  much  more  suitable  for 
a population,  on  account  of  the  facility  of  obtaining  the 
necessary  water  and  on  account  of  the  vicinity  of  good 
land  for  cultivation.  The  place  is  called  Nipaguay.  The 
change  was  effected  in  the  month  of  August  of  the  same 
year.  We  gladly  take  notice  of  the  many  new  Christians 
who  have  followed  the  Fathers  to  the  new  place,  doubt- 
less recognizing  its  advantages.  On  the  new  site,  they  have 
constructed,  by  the  month  of  December,  1774,  the  following 
buildings : 

1.  A church  of  poles  and  roofed  with  tules.  It  meas- 
ures six  by  nineteen  varas  (17  by  53  feet). 

2.  One  house,  twenty  varas  long  and  four  varas  wide 
(56  by  12  feet),  of  adobes,  but  roofed  with  tules.  It  is 
divided  into  living  rooms  for  the  Fathers. 

3.  Another  house,  thirteen  varas  long  and  five  varas 
wide  (36  by  14  feet),  of  adobes,  with  a flat  roof,  to  be 
used  as  a granary. 

4.  Another  building  of  palisades  and  roofed  with  tules. 
It  is  five  varas  long  and  four  varas  wide  (14  by  11  feet), 
to  be  occupied  by  muleteers  and  shepherds. 


18  Copied  for  the  writer  from  the  original  at  the  Museo  Nacional, 
Mexico,  by  Dr.  Herbert  E.  Bolton,  University  of  California.  From  this 
it  is  clear  that  the  Father  spelled  his  name  Jayme.  Fr.  Serra  and  Fr. 
Fuster  wrote  it  Jaume.  Fr.  Palou  always  writes  Jayme. 


Mission  San  Diego 


57 


5.  A house  of  adobe  with  flat  roof,  five  varas  long  and 
four  varas  wide  (14  by  11  feet),  to  be  used  as  a smithy. 

6.  A structure  of  poles  and  tides  for  the  servants.  It 
is  six  varas  long  and  three  varas  wide  (17  by  9 feet). 

7.  Thirteen  habitations  of  the  same  character,  to  be  used 
as  living  rooms  by  the  Indians. 

8.  A corral  of  the  same  material  for  mares  and  horses 
in  a place  called  Rancho  de  San  Luis,  at  a distance  of  one 
league  from  the  new  mission. 

Finally,  new  land  has  been  prepared  for  sowing  about 
seven  fanegas  of  wheat.” 

In  his  report,  Fr.  Serra  enumerates  also  the  additions  to 
the  various  departments  of  the  missions  as  follows : 

Church  and  Vestry — “A  lavatory  of  copper,  two  surplices, 
four  cinctures,  for  the  sacristy;  one  set  of  the  Way  of  the 
Cross  with  pictures,  for  the  church.” 

House  and  Field — After  enumerating  various  house  uten- 
sils and  farm  implements,  Fr.  Serra  continues,  “In  addition 
to  all  this,  the  mission  has  received  donations  from  His 
Excellency,  which  he  deigned  to  send  in  the  shape  of  all 
kinds  of  provisions,  that  is  to  say,  flour,  corn,  beans,  hams, 
vegetables,  beads,  clothing  for  the  Indians,  etc.,  all  of  which 
are  not  entered  in  the  memorias.19  Nor  are  the  articles 
named  which  our  College  sent  to  the  missions  and  to  this 
one  in  particular,  which  amount  to  much  more  than  the 
stipends  allowed  the  missionaries.  Tn  future,’  the  Fr. 
Guardian  writes,  we  shall  receive  the  list  of  goods  in  keeping 
with  the  amount  of  the  stipend,  and  more  than  that  should 
not  be  asked  for.’  ” 

Live  stock — “There  are  fifty-four  head  of  cattle,  large 
and  small ; one  hundred  and  four  head  of  sheep ; sixty-one 
goats ; twenty-two  riding  and  pack  mules ; nine  tame  horses ; 
fifteen  mares ; eleven  colts  and  fillies ; two  male  and  one 
female  mule ; and  twenty-seven  pigs,  large  and  small. 


19  A memoria  was  an  invoice,  i.  e.,  a list  of  goods  purchased  in  Mex- 
ico and  shipped  to  the  missions  at  the  request  and  expense  of  the 
Fathers. 


58  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Agriculture — “In  the  past  year,  they  sowed  seven  fanegas 
of  wheat,  but  harvested  only  thirty,  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  water,  irrigation  not  having  been  established  as  yet. 

Families  and  Individtials — “From  the  founding  of  the 
mission  to  December  31,  1774,  there  have  been  baptized  one 
hundred  and  six  persons,  adults  and  children.  Nineteen  have 
died,  and  thus  there  remain  at  the  mission  ninety-seven  per- 
sons, all  living  in  the  mission  within  sound  of  the  bell. 
There  have  been  celebrated  nineteen  marriages,  that  is  to 
say,  seventeen  neophyte  males  with  neophyte  females,  and 
two  with  Indians  from  Lower  California.  Thus  the  mission 
consists  of  nineteen  families  with  ninety-seven  Indian  souls, 
according  to  the  reports  of  the  missionaries. ” 20 


20  Serra,  Informe,  February  5,  1775.  Santa  Barbara  Archives. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Dark  Days  Approaching. — Fr.  Palou’s  Account. — Conspiracy. — Mission 
Attacked  and  Fired. — The  Battle. — Casualties. — Fr.  Jayme  Mur- 
dered.— Fr.  Fuster’s  Heroism. — Bravery  of  the  Soldiers. — A Vow. 
— Neglectful  Sentinels. — Body  of  Fr.  Jayme  Discovered. — Burial 
at  Presidio. — Fr.  Serra  and  Captain  Rivera  Notified. — Fr.  Serra 
Pleads  with  Viceroy  for  the  Conspirators. — Captain  J.  B.  Anza. — 
Account  of  the  Disaster  by  Fr.  Pedro  Font,  O.  F.  M. — Anza  and 
Fr.  Font  Depart. — Indian  Takes  Refuge  in  Church. — Rivera  Drags 
Indian  from  Church. — The  Fathers  Protest. — Rivera  Declared  Ex- 
communicated.— Church  Asylum. — Fr.  Serra  at  San  Diego. — Noble 
Captain  Choquet. — Rebuilding  of  the  Mission  Begun. — Rivera’s 
Duplicity. — Choquet  Indignant. — Gloom.— Letter  from  Viceroy  Bu- 
careli. — Fr.  Serra  Happy. — -Mission  Restored. — Indian  Revolters 
Released. 

N its  new  site,  the  mission  seems  to  have  thrived  un- 


commonly well,  in  fact,  so  well  that,  as  the  Fathers  event- 
ually concluded,  it  roused  the  anger  of  mankind’s  enemy, 
who  presumed  to  have  a mortgage,  as  it  were,  on  the  souls 
of  the  Indians.  Only  too  early  did  the  dark  days  of  tribu- 
lation steal  upon  the  happy  patriarchal  family.  We  shall 
let  Fr.  Palou  relate  his 


“In  the  month  of  November,  1775,  the  missionaries  sta- 
tioned at  Mission  San  Diego  were  Fr.  Luis  Jayme,  formerly 
lector  of  philosophy  in  the  Franciscan  Province  of  Mayorca, 
and  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster,  a member  of  the  Province  of 
Aragon.  Both  observed  with  delight  the  spiritual  fruit  so 
abundantly  gathered  in  that  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  That 
same  year,  on  October  3,  the  eve  of  our  Seraphic  Father 
St.  Francis,  they  had  baptized  as  many  as  sixty  convert 
Indians  who,  with  the  many  already  baptized,  formed  a 
good-sized  settlement,  which  lay  in  the  valley  of  the  same 


“Account  of  the  Cruel  Martyrdom  of  the 
Venerable  Fr.  Luis  Jayme,  and  of 
the  Lamentable  Tragedy  at 
Mission  San  Diego. 


6o  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  Calfornia 


name,  two  leagues  distant  from  the  presidio.  They  had 
moved  the  mission  to  this  place  about  one  year  before  in 
order  to  cultivate  corn  and  wheat  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  new  establishment,  and  in  order  to  convert  the  gen- 
tiles. In  this,  their  efforts  had  been  unsuccessful  on  the 
original  mission  site  adjoining  the  garrison. 

“Undoubtedly,  the  jealous  archenemy  realized  that  in  this 
territory  paganism  was  doomed ; that  the  missionaries  by 
their  whole-souled  energy  and  apostolic  zeal  were  weak- 
ening his  stronghold  and  were  little  by  little  banishing 
heathenism  from  the  vicinity  of  the  port  of  San  Diego. 
Accordingly,  he  planned  an  attack  on  this  spiritual  con- 
quest, and  God  in  His  inscrutable  judgments  permitted 
Satan  to  revenge  himself  upon  those  who  had  snatched  so 
many  souls  from  his  infernal  clutches.  Malice,  of  course, 
led  Satan  to  incite  a few  new  Christians,  not  as  yet  grounded 
in  the  Faith,  to  rise  in  rebellion  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  mission  and  of  taking  the  lives  of  the  mis- 
sionaries as  well  as  of  the  soldiers  who  guarded  and  de- 
fended them.  Shortly  after  the  feast  of  our  Seraphic 
Father  St.  Francis,  on  whose  vigil,  as  I said,  sixty  Indians 
had  received  Baptism,  two  Indians,  who  had  been  Christians 
a long  time,  apostatized  and  fled  from  the  mission.  The 
Fathers  knew  neither  the  cause  nor  the  motive.  A few 
days  after  they  had  been  missed,  the  sergeant  of  the  presidio 
with  a party  of  soldiers  went  in  search  of  the  deserters. 
He  was  unable  to  find  them ; but  he  learned  that  many 
Indians  had  gone  to  the  sierra  between  San  Diego  and  the 
Colorado  River.  The  reason  for  this  exodus  he  could  not 
ascertain.  What  he  did  discover,  however,  was  that  the 
two  apostates  were  going  from  rancheria  to  rancheria,  ex- 
horting the  pagans  to  put  an  end  to  the  mission  and  the 
presidio.  In  the  councils  they  declared  that  they  wanted 
to  kill  the  soldiers  because  these  defended  the  Fathers,  and 
that  they  wanted  to  kill  the  missionaries  because  these  in- 
tended to  abolish  paganism  by  converting  all  to  Christianity. 
This  is  what  one  of  the  malefactors  confessed  to  Coman- 
dante  Fernando  Rivera,  from  whose  lips  I heard  it,  and 


Mission  San  Diego 


61 

which  was  proved  at  the  subsequent  investigations.  Some 
of  the  rancherias  declined  to  co-operate,  but  the  majority 
conspired  and  resolved  that  the  assault  should  be  made  at 
night  against  the  presidio  and  the  mission  simultaneously. 

“The  conspirators,  numbering  about  eight  hundred  and 
well  armed  with  arrows  and  war  clubs,  fell  upon  the  mis- 
sion at  about  one  o’clock  in  the  night  of  November  4,  1775. 
Another  party  proceeded  to  attack  the  presidio,  since  they 
had  agreed  to  charge  both  places  at  the  same  time.  The 
mission  was  not  to  be  fired  until  it  was  thought  that  the 
other  party  had  reached  the  presidio,  and  here  the  fire  was 
to  be  started  when  it  was  seen  at  the  mission.  These 
diabolical  schemes  were  so  little  suspected  at  either  the 
presidio  or  the  mission  that  all  went  to  sleep,  the  Fathers 
as  well  as  the  soldiers.  What  was  worse,  the  sentinels, 
too,  gave  themselves  up  to  sleep,  as  can  be  inferred  from 
all  the  letters  that  have  come  from  San  Diego.  From  these 
I compile  the  following  account : 

“At  about  one  o’clock  in  the  night,”  Fr.  Palou  continues, 
“that  part  of  the  savage  mob  arrived  which  was  to  attack 
the  poor  mission.  Some  of  these  Indians  stationed  them- 
selves at  the  doors  of  the  huts  of  the  Christians  in  the  village 
in  order  to  prevent  them  from  sounding  the  alarm  or  tak- 
ing up  arms,  threatening  with  death  whoever  should  leave 
his  habitation.  The  others  went  to  the  vestry  to  rob  the 
vestments  and  whatever  they  might  discover  of  use  to  them- 
selves. Finding  the  chests  locked,  they  broke  them  open 
with  stones  and  stole  everything  they  wanted.  From  the 
sacristy  they  passed  on  to  the  soldiers’  quarters,  which  stood 
somewhat  apart.  Here  they  found  a fire  burning;  but  all, 
even  the  sentinels,  were  sleeping  so  soundly  that  the  racket 
caused  by  breaking  open  the  wardrobes  in  the  vestry  had 
not  been  sufficient  to  rouse  them.  When  the  savages  no- 
ticed this,  one  of  their  number  took  a brand  from  the 
fire  and  with  it  set  fire  to  different  parts  outside.  That 
awakened  the  two  missionaries,  who  were  sleeping  in  sep- 
arate apartments,  as  also  the  soldiers  of  the  guard.  Of 


62  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


these  there  were  only  three  besides  the  corporal,1  since  one 
had  gone  to  the  new  foundation  of  San  Juan  Capistrano, 
and  another,  having  gone  three  days  before  to  the  presidio 
on  account  of  ill  health,  had  not  been  replaced.  Besides 
those  mentioned,  there  were  in  another  quarter  the  black- 
smith and  two  carpenters,  one  from  the  presidio,  who  was 
ill,  and  one  who  belonged  to  the  mission.  In  another  build- 
ing were  two  youths,  the  son  and  the  nephew  of  the  presidio 
lieutenant.  Against  this  small  number  of  persons  stood 
united  a formidable  army,  but  so  cowardly  as  to  choose  the 
most  unexpected  hour  of  the  night. 

“When  Fr.  Vicente  awoke  and  saw  the  buildings  on  fire, 
he  hastened  to  the  barracks  where  the  soldiers  had'  already 
begun  to  discharge  their  muskets.  The  two  boys  likewise 
took  refuge  under  the  protection  of  the  soldiers.  The  black- 
smith was  about  to  leave  his  room  when  he  was  so  badly 
wounded  that  he  died  soon  after.  The  carpenter  of  the 
mission  seized  a gun  which  he  had  in  readiness,  shot  one 
of  the  Indians,  and  escaped  to  the  soldiers’  quarters  during 
the  subsequent  turmoil.  The  other  carpenter,  Ursulino  by 
name,  who  was  ill,  received  a mortal  wound ; he  lived  to 
the  fifth  day,  however,  during  which  time  he  was  prepared 
for  death;  and  we  piously  believe  that  he  went  to  enjoy 
God,  inasmuch  as  he  gave  such  good  proof  of  being  well 
disposed ; for,  when  pierced  with  the  arrow  that  caused 
his  death,  he  said  only  these  words : ‘Ha,  Indian,  you  have 
killed  me.  God  forgive  you !’  He  persevered  in  these  dis- 
positions, forgiving  him  who  had  inflicted  the  wound.  More 
than  that ; when  he  made  his  will,  presuming  there  was  no 
needy  relative,  he  bequeathed  all  that  was  coming  to  him 
from  the  general  store,  and  that  was  quite  a considerable 
amount,  to  the  Indians  of  Mission  San  Diego.  An  heroic 
act,  worthy  of  a true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ ! 

“Fr.  Luis  Jayme,  who  awoke  at  the  same  time  as  his 


i The  names,  according  to  Bancroft,  i,  250,  were  Alejo  Antonio  Gon- 
zalez, Juan  Alvarez,  Joaquin  Armenta,  and  Corporal  Juan  Estevan 
Rocha. 


saovAvs  ah  aanacranM  3MAYf  sim 


Mission  San  Diego 


63 


64  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


companion,  Father  Vicente,  did  not  seek  the  soldiers’  quar- 
ters, but  went  to  where  a crowd  of  savages  were  stand- 
ing. On  coming  near  enough,  he  greeted  them  with  his 
customary  salutation,  ‘Love  God,  my  children ! — Amar  a 
Dios,  hijos !’  In  return,  however,  they  seized  him  and 
dragged  him  outside  the  mission  to  the  bed  of  the  river. 
Here,  having  stripped  him  to  the  trunks,  they  began  to  shoot 
innumerable  arrows  into  his  body  and  to  beat  him  with 
clubs  until  life  was  extinct.  When  discovered  next  day, 
there  was  not  a sound  spot  on  his  body,  save  the  conse- 
crated hands.  These  God  had  preserved  (as  we  must  piously 
believe  and  infer  from  the  Father’s  godly  and  exemplary 
conduct),  in  order  that  it  might  be  known  how  zealously 
and  nobly  he  had  labored  for  the  Indians  who  should  repay 
him  with  such  cruelty,  and  how  he  had  toiled  for  the  pur- 
pose of  saving  their  souls  and  rescuing  them  from  the 
gates  of  hell.  Nor  do  we  doubt  that  he  shed  his  blood 
willingly,  in  order  to  irrigate  that  vineyard  of  the  Lord 
which  he  had  cultivated  amid  such  hardships  and  which, 
because  of  such  copious  irrigation,  will  yield  fruit  in  season 
by  converting  the  remainder  of  the  pagans  who  as  yet  per- 
sist in  their  wild  life.  This  we  hope  from  the  Lord  through 
the  intercession  of  the  venerable  deceased,  whose  soul  I do 
not  doubt  is  now  enjoying  God. 

“While  some  of  the  savages  were  martyring  the  vener- 
able deceased,  the  rest  craved  to  do  the  same  to  the  other 
Father  in  the  soldiers’  barracks,  which  like  the  other  struc- 
tures was  already  on  fire.  In  order  to  massacre  all,  as 
they  had  resolved,  the  savages  kept  on  discharging  arrows 
and  throwing  clubs.  One  of  the  soldiers,  who  wore  no 
leather  jacket,  was  in  fact  struck  by  an  arrow  and  dis- 
abled ; but  the  other  three  did  their  best  and  succeeded 
in  killing  some  of  the  savages  and  wounding  others.  The 
fire  raging  in  every  direction  was  already  becoming  intoler- 
able. In  order  not  to  roast  to  death,  the  soldiers  deter- 
mined to  move  to  a little  adobe  structure,  three  walls  of  which 
had  the  height  of  a man,  and  which  the  cook  had  covered 
with  boughs  as  a protection  against  the  sun.  This  place 


Mission  San  Diego 


6S 


they  reached  at  imminent  peril  from  a shower  of  arrows. 
Shooting  through  the  cracks  and  openings  in  the  walls, 
the  soldiers  wounded  every  savage  that  came  within  sight. 
No  sooner,  however,  had  the  Indians  noticed  this  than  they 
threw  firebrands  on  the  branches  that  served  as  a roof. 
Fortunately,  there  were  but  few  branches,  so  that  little 
harm  was  done  the  persons  who  had  taken  refuge  there. 
What  molested  them  seriously  were  the  darts,  clubs,  and 
fire-brands  which  the  Indians  threw  into  the  side  that  was 
open.  To  deliver  themselves  from  this  danger,  the  soldiers 
resolved  to  fetch  from  the  burning  buildings  some  bundles 
and  boxes  with  which  to  erect  a kind  of  parapet.  Although 
in  this  bold  attempt  another  soldier  was  disabled  by  the 
arrows  of  the  enemies,  the  men  succeeded  in  constructing 
the  low  barricade  behind  which  they  were  protected  when 
discharging  their  muskets.  Though  shielded  now  on  all 
sides  against  the  arrows,  the  defenders  were  not  secure 
against  the  firebrands,  sticks,  and  the  lumps  of  adobe,  which 
the  savages  threw  over  the  walls ; still,  these  did  little  harm. 
In  this  situation,  the  heroic  defenders  continued  until  the 
powder  began  to  give  out.  In  one  of  the  burning  houses, 
the  mission  had  a quantity  of  powder  which  it  used  to  dis- 
charge the  guns  on  great  festival  occasions.  It  was  pre- 
served in  a box  which,  through  the  interposition  of  the 
Lord,  had  not  yet  been  reached  by  the  fire.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  it ; and  with  it  the  men  continued  the 
defense  until  the  dawn  of  day,  when  the  enemies  retired, 
taking  along  their  dead  and  wounded.” 

In  his  Nota  Previa  to  the  Death  Register  of  Mission  San 
Diego,  Fr.  Fuster  unhesitatingly  attributes  the  preservation 
of  the  survivors  under  the  desperate  circumstances  just 
related  to  the  interposition  of  the  heavenly  Queen.  “We 
were  thus  protected  against  the  arrows,”  he  writes,  “although 
not  against  the  fiery  darts  and  stones  that  rained  down 
on  us  and  thus  put  us  all  in  the  greatest  peril,  on  account 
of  a bag  of  about  fifty  pounds  of  powder  which  we  had 


66  Alissions  an  d M issionaries  of  California 


there.2  Seeing  ourselves  so  endangered  in  this  exposed 
place,  we  turned  to  the  Most  Pure  Queen  of  the  Angels; 
we  vowed  to  fast  on  nine  Saturdays,  each  promising  to 
have  a holy  Mass  celebrated,  and  I on  my  part  promised 
a novena  of  holy  Masses  in  her  honor.  In  this  way  we 
maintained  ourselves  till  daybreak ; and  all  this  while  we 
experienced  the  evident  aid  of  the  Blessed  Queen  in  this 
place.  For  although  the  enemies  were  only  fourteen  paces 
away  from  us,  and  our  only  protection  were  low  adobe 
walls,  not  one  of  the  arrows  nor  even  of  the  stones  as 
much  as  touched  us.” 

‘'Meanwhile,”  Fr.  Palou  continues,  “the  second  band  of 
savages  had  proceeded  to  the  garrison ; but  before  reach- 
ing it,  they  stopped  because  those  who  were  to  assault  the 
mission  had  in  their  haste  set  fire  to  its  buildings  when  the 
others  were  yet  at  a distance  from  the  presidio.  From  the 
road  they  saw  the  conflagration  at  the  mission ; but  they 
dared  not  approach  the  garrison,  since  they  presumed  that 
the  fire  must  have  been  seen  there.  Hence,  they  hastened 
back  to  join  the  other  savages  at  the  mission,  in  order  to 
help  them  in  case,  as  they  expected,  relief  should  come 
from  the  presidio  soldiers.  At  the  military  post,  however, 
they  were  as  careless  as  the  guards  at  the  mission.  They 
did  not  learn  what  had  happened  till  the  morning  of  No- 
vember 5,  when  they  were  notified  by  the  Lower  Cali- 
fornia Indian  whom,  on  the  withdrawal  of  the  enemies, 
Fr.  Vicente  had  despatched  to  them.  Without  doubt,  the 
sentinel  had  been  sleeping,  since  he  neither  had  seen  the 
great  fire,  although  from  the  presidio  the  mission  build- 
ings are  visible,  nor  had  even  heard  the  gunshots  so  often 
breaking  the  silence  of  the  night,  although  at  the  mission 
one  could  hear  the  salute  which  was  fired  every  morning  at 
the  presidio. 

“After  daybreak,  on  November  5,  when  the  savages  had 
disappeared,  the  Christians  came  forth  from  their  ran- 


2 In  his  Vida  (chap.  40),  Fr.  Palou  relates  that  Fr.  Fuster  covered 
the  bag  of  powder  with  the  skirt  of  his  habit. 


Mission  San  Diego 


67 


cheria.  They  went  to  Fr.  Vicente  who  was  with  the 
wounded  soldiers  and  with  tears  in  their  eyes  related  how 
the  pagans  had  threatened  them  with  death  if  they  would 
leave  their  habitations.  Then  Fr.  Vicente  immediately  sent 
an  Indian  to  the  presidio  to  report  what  had  happened. 
Others  were  despatched  in  search  of  Fr.  Luis.  Fr.  Vicente 
was  much  worried  on  his  account,  as  he  knew  nothing 
about  his  companion ; the  whole  building  was  already  ablaze 
when  he  fled  to  the  barracks.  Not  finding  Fr.  Luis  with 
the  soldiers,  he  again  left  the  barracks  at  the  peril  of  his 
life  to  look  for  him  in  his  apartment.  Failing  to  find  him 
there,  Fr.  Vicente  feared  he  had  been  burnt  to  death,  but 
such  was  not  the  case;  for  Fr.  Luis  had  gone  up  to  the 
savages,,  who  at  once  took  his  life  in  a cruel  manner.  Not 
knowing  this,  however,  Fr.  Vicente  supposed  that  Fr.  Luis 
might  perhaps  be  in  hiding  and  was  not  aware  that  the 
savages  had  departed.  Hence  he  ordered  a search.  At  the 
same  time,  he  directed  other  Indians  to  extinguish  the  fire 
in  the  wheat  room,  so  that  as  least  some  of  the  provisions 
that  the  mission  had  might  be  saved. 

“The  Indians  searched  for  Fr.  Luis  and  at  length  found 
him  dead  in  the  mission  arroyo.  The  body  was  covered 
from  head  to  foot  with  wounds  and  wore  no  more  clothing 
than  his  innocent  blood.  They  bore  the  corpse  to  Fr. 
Vicente,  who  was  beside  himself  with  grief  at  sight  of  his 
beloved  companion  Father.  He  wrote  later  that  the  face 
was  so  disfigured  and  bruised  from  the  blows  with  war 
clubs  that  he  could  recognize  the  body  of  Fr.  Luis  only 
by  the  whiteness  of  the  flesh  appearing  through  the  crust 
of  blood  , that  was  the  only  robe  the  corpse  wore.  There 
was  not  a sound  spot  on  it,  except  the  innocent  hands.  It 
is  left  to  the  reader  to  imagine  the  pain  which  the  said 
Father  must  have  felt,  who  saw  his  beloved  companion 
missionary  killed  with  such  cruelty,  and  to  picture  the 
extraordinary  lamentations  of  the  neophytes  bitterly  be- 
wailing their  dead  Father  whom  they  loved  so  much.  When 
pain  and  sorrow  at  last  gave  way  to  reflection,  Fr.  Vicente 
ordered  some  of  the  Indians  to  prepare  stretchers  on  which 


68  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


to  carry  the  dead  and  those  of  the  wounded  who  could  not 
travel  on  horseback*  to  the  presidio,  whilst  waiting  for 
relief  from  there.  This  was  done;  and  when  the  soldiers 
appeared,  they  conveyed  the  dead  and  wounded  to  the  gar- 
rison, Fr.  Vicente  following  on  foot.  On  arriving  at  the 
presidio,  he  buried  the  two  dead,  the  venerable  Fr.  Luis 
Jayme  and  the  blacksmith  Jose  Romero.  Then  they  en- 
deavored to  restore  to  health  the  four  soldiers  and  the  car- 
penter Urselino.  The  former  all  recovered ; but  the  carpen- 
ter who  was  more  seriously  injured  died  an  exemplary  death 
on  the  fifth  day  after  the  cruel  tragedy.  A few  days  later, 
Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen  and  Fr.  Gregorio  Amurrio 
arrived.  They  had  gone  to  found  Mission  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano, but  suspended  action  for  the  present.  The  three 
Fathers  celebrated  the  obsequies  for  the  dead  Father,  and 
then  reported  all  that  had  occurred  to  the  Fr.  Presidente 
in  letters  which  the  lieutenant  despatched  by  a courier  to 
Monterey. 

“The  despatches  of  Lieutenant  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega 
reached  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  at  Monterey,  on  Decem- 
ber 13,  1775,  toward  nightfall.  No  sooner  had  he  read 
the  note  than  he  rode  out  to  Mission  San  Carlos  to  deliver 
the  letters  from  the  Fathers  of  San  Diego,  that  recounted 
the  deplorable  occurrence  so  deeply  felt  by  all.  When 
Fr.  Serra  learned  what  had  happened,  he  exclaimed,  ‘Thanks 
be  to  God,  that  land  is  already  irrigated ; now  the  con- 
version of  the  Dieguinos  will  succeed.’ 3 

“Captain  Rivera  resolved  to  go  to  San  Diego  immediately 
and  that  same  night  went  back  to  Monterey.  Fr.  Serra 
desired  to  accompany  him ; but  Rivera  pleaded  haste,  so  that 
Fr.  Serra  would  not  be  able  to  follow  him.  At  the  Mission 
of  San  Carlos,  the  Office  of  the  Dead  was  chanted  and  a 
Requiem  Mass  offered  up.  The  six  Fathers  attended,  though 
all  believed  that  Fr.  Luis  having  won  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom needed  no  prayers ; but  not  being  infallibly  certain, 


3 • ‘ Gracias  a Dios ! ya  se  rego  aquella  tierra ; ahora  si  se  conseguira 
la  reduccion  de  los  Dieguinos.  ” — Palou,  Vida,  p.  184. 


Mission  San  Diego 


69 


they  offered  the  suffrages.  Moreover,  each  Father,  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement,  said  twenty  holy  Masses  for  the  soul 
of  the  deceased.  Fr.  Serra  sent  an  account  to  the  Fr. 
Guardian  of  San  Fernando  College,  Mexico.  To  the  vice- 
roy also  he  wrote  a full  account,  and  prayed  him  to  bear 
in  mind  that,  instead  of  being  frightened  and  disheartened, 
the  friars  in  California  felt  encouraged  by  the  example  of 
their  martyred  brother,  whom  they  envied  the  martyrdom. 
Fearing  only  that  castigation  might  be  inflicted  on  the  In- 
dians who  had  taken  part  in  the  murder  and  assault,  Fr. 
Serra  begged  him  to  have  mercy  on  them,  since  they  were 
doubtless  influenced  by  the  enemy  of  souls,  who,  he  hoped, 
would  not  be  given  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  restora- 
tion of  the  mission  and  the  founding  of  Mission  San  Juan 
Capistrano  delayed.  What  was  wanted  at  the  missions  was 
a stronger  guard  to  prevent  similar  disasters.  These  let- 
ters were  brought  to  Captain  Rivera  by  Fr.  Dumetz,  who 
accompanied  Rivera-  as  far  as  Mission  San  Antonio/’ 4 * 

The  captain  reached  San  Diego  on  January  11,  1776, 
accompanied  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Juan  Bautista  Anza, 
commander  of  an  expedition  on  its  way  from  Sonora  to 
San  Francisco  Bay,  by  Fr.  Pedro  Font,  a Franciscan  and 
chaplain  of  the  troops  and  colonists,  and  by  about  thirty 
soldiers.6  Fr.  Font  kept  a very  detailed  diary;  he  was  a 
close  observer  and  not  afraid  to  express  his  views  clearly. 
From  him  we  have  some  particulars  that  throw  much  light 
on  the  revolt  and  on  Captain  Rivera.  “The  presidio,”  he 
relates,  “is  located  in  a very  bad  place  on  a hill  dominated 
by  others.  It  is  small  and  inadequate.  At  its  foot,  passes 
the  river  which  for  a great  part  of  the  year  runs  dry. 
Scarcely  enough  water  is  obtained  from  the  pools  in  its 
sandy  bed  to  suffice  for  drinking  purposes.” 

Touching  the  conditions  at  the  Mission,  he  writes : 


4 Palou,  Noticias,  iv,  pp.  118-131;  Vida,  pp.  176-186.  See  also  Mis- 
sions and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  169-170. 

s For  details  of  the  expedition  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii, 

chap.  xi. 


70  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“Neither  the  presidio  nor  the  mission  has  as  yet  any  fields 
under  cultivation ; wherefore  few  Indians  live  there.  Most 
of  them,  though  they  be  Christians,  are  permitted  to  live 
in  their  rancherias,  as  is  done  in  Lower  California ; for  this 
reason  they  have  such  close  intercourse  with  the  pagan 
Indians.  They  are,  in  fact,  more  pagan  than  Christian.  The 
destruction  and  assault  has,  therefore,  made  them  very  poor.  * 
In  truth,  Mission  San  Diego  is  the  poorest  which  the 
Fathers  have  on  the  coast.  Likewise,  its  Indians  are  the 
worst.  They  belong  to  the  Quemaya  tribe,  and  they  are 
very  similar  to  the  Jecuiches  as  well  for  perverse  inten- 
tions and  wicked  heart  as  for  being  in  body  vile,  ugly,  dirty, 
careless,  smutty,  and  flatfaced.  They  are  ungrateful  to  the 
Fathers,  and  so  ill-mannered  that  to  secure  some  fish  the 
missionaries  have  to  pay  them  with  beads,  or  corn,  etc. 

“As  already  stated,  the  presidio  and  mission  have  neither 
sufficient  soil  nor  water  for  raising  grain.  The  missionary 
Fathers,  after  instructing  the  pagans,  baptized  a large  num- 
ber of  them,  I believe  five  hundred,  and  permitted  them  to 
live  in  their  rancherias,  only  appointing  one  who  knew  how 
to  lead  in  their  prayers.  All,  however,  were  obliged  to 
come  to  the  mission  by  turns  and  hear  holy  Mass  on  Sun- 
days and  days  of  obligation,  as  is  the  custom  in  Lower 
California.  Under  these  conditions,  the  Christians  were  such 
only  in  name,  and  more  or  less  like  the  pagans,  weak  in 
Christianity,  free  to  live  as  they  pleased,  and  without  suffi- 
cient instruction ; but  still  the  missionaries  could  do  nothing 
more.” 

Fr.  Font  then  relates  the  massacre  and  in  forceful  terms 
gives  vent  to  his  indignation  regarding  the  sentinels  who 
had  been  sleeping  instead  of  standing  guard.  “The  four 
soldiers,”  he  writes,  “be  it  that  they  had  been  wounded  or 
that  Captain  Rivera  had  a special  affection  toward  them, 
were  not  at  all  reproved.  Neither  was  the  sentinel  at  the 
presidio  punished,  who  claimed  that  he  had  taken  the  light 
in  the  firmament,  caused  by  the  burning  mission,  to  be  the 
light  of  the  moon ; that,  any  way,  it  was  his  business  to 
look  after  prisoners  only,  wherefore  he  did  not  bother  where 


Mission  San  Diego 


7 


the  light  came  from.  The  remarkable  excuses  of  the  negli- 
gent soldiery  appeared  to  have  satisfied  Rivera.  Instead, 
the  commander  blamed  Lieutenant  Francisco  de  Ortega, 
toward  whom  he  nourished  a special  animosity,  because  the 
Fathers  had  recommended  him  to  the  government.  Ortega, 
however,  was  entirely  innocent  for  the  simple  reason  that 
he  had  been  absent  at  the  time,  having  accompanied  Fr. 
Lasuen  to  found  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano.  But  he  was 
friendly  to  the  missionaries,  and  that  was  another  motive 
for  the  commander’s  animosity.  Rivera  made  much  more 
ado  about  the  soldiers  than  about  the  missionaries  as  may 
• be  seen  from  the  way  he  seized  the  opportunity  to  vent  his 
pent-up  spleen  on  Fr.  Serra.  When  he,  as  commander  at 
Monterey,  received  the  news  of  the  uprising  at  San  Diego 
Mission,  he  immediately  went  to  Mission  Carmelo  to  notify 
the  Fr.  Presidente  and  he  did  it  in  this  brutal  fashion. 
‘Fr.  Presidente,’  he  said  on  entering  Fr.  Serra’s  room,  T 
have  just  received  a fatal  notice  from  San  Diego  which 
obliges  me  to  put  myself  on  the  road  thither  immediately, 
and  it  is  that  the  Indians  have  revolted,  burned  the  mis- 
sion, and  killed  Fr.  Luis.  Only  one  thing  pleases  me  very 
much,  and  it  is  that  no  soldier  was  killed,  thanks  be  to 
God.’ 

“At  the  mission,  everything  had  been  reduced  to  ashes,” 
Fr.  Font  continues,  “so  that  the  Fathers  were  entirely  desti- 
tute, their  books,  manuscripts,  etc.,  having  all  been  destroyed 
in  the  fire.  The  censer,  the  chalice  used  at  holy  Mass,  and 
pieces  of  coin  used  in  the  ceremonies  of  marriage,  had  been 
melted  to  a solid  mass.  The  missionaries  retired  to  the 
presidio,  where  they  were  huddled  together  bereft  of  every 
comfort. 

“On  January  14,  1776,  Sunday,”  Fr.  Font  tells  us  that  he 
celebrated  holy  Mass  and  that  afterwards  “High  Mass  was 
sung  by  one  of  the  Fathers,  in  honor  of  the  Most  Sweet 
Name  of  Jesus  for  the  pacification  of  the  Indian  rebels. 
I sang  in  the  choir,”  he  adds,  “and  accompanied  my  singing 
with  a poor  spinet,  which  Fr.  Angel  Somera  (of  San  Gab- 
riel) left  for  this  mission  when  he  was  at  the  presidio.” 


72  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


“On  Monday,  January  15,  the  examination  of  the  revolters 
was  resumed.  Besides  the  five  chiefs  imprisoned  at  the 
presidio,  two  were  taken  from  the  mission  rancheria.  These 
went  to  join  the  savages,  who  wanted  to  make  a third  attack 
on  the  presidio.  The  lieutenant  ordered  the  two  to  be 
flogged ; this  was  done  with  such  severity  that  one  of  the  un- 
fortunates died,  while  the  other  was  in  a bad  condition.  Fr. 
Fermin  Lasuen  began  to  treat  this  latter  culprit  very  kindly 
and  patiently;  but  he  met  With  little  gratitude.  The  Indian 
remained  sullen,  and,  on  recovering  somewhat,  he  disap- 
peared. Later,  the  nine  new  prisoners  were  examined,  hav- 
ing previously  received  fifty  lashes.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
not  learned  what  they  had  done  with  the  images  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  of  St.  Joseph.”  Fr.  Font  further  remarks 
that  the  Indians  appeared  to  be  infested  from  childhood 
with  sores  and  tumors,  since  they  were  covered  with  scabs,  a 
sign  of  impure  blood,  just  as  he  had  observed  on  the  savages 
of  the  sierra. 

Notwithstanding  the  scarcity  of  beeswax  candles,  the  sol- 
emn blessing  of  candles,  on  February  2,  took  place.  “In 
this  connection  I must  remark,”  he  writes,  “that  the  church 
is  a jacal  of  tide,  which  is  very  poorly  constructed  and  had 
formerly  been  used  as  a warehouse.”  This  fact  the  reader 
will  please  remember,  because  it  has  bearing  on  the  conduct 
of  Rivera. 

On  February  3,  it  was  reported  from  San  Gabriel  that 
the  people  were  suffering  from  lack  of  food.  Accordingly, 
on  Sunday,  February  4,  a train  of  pack  mules  was  sent 
with  provisions  consisting  of  worm-eaten  corn.  Dona  Cata- 
rina Ortiz,  the  wife  of  Don  Manuel  Monteagudo,  at  whose 
house  Fr.  Font  was  quartered,  tried  to  persuade  him  to  stay 
until  he  had  recovered  from  his  illness,  and  she  also  re- 
quested Anza  to  postpone  the  departure ; but  Fr.  Font  would 
not  hear  of  it.  Hence,  on  February  9,  Anza  set  out,  accom- 
panied by  Fr.  Font  and  guards. 

In  the  meantime,  one  of  the  neophytes,  who  had  partici- 
pated in  the  assault  on  the  mission,  repented  and  took  refuge 
in  the  building  used  for  divine  service  at  San  Diego.  “When 


Mission  San  Diego 


73 


Fr.  Vicente  learned  this,”  Fr.  Palou  writes,  “he  went  in 
person  to  visit  the  captain  and  told  him  what  had  occurred, 
in  order  to  see  what  could  be  done  quietly.  The  captain 
replied  that  it  was  well ; he  would  think  it  over.  What  he 
did,  however,  was  to  send  an  official  note  to  said  Father, 

telling-  him  to  deliver  the  Indian  culprit  named  Carlos,  who 

had  taken  refuge  in  the  sanctuary  to  which  privilege  on 

account  of  his  crime  he  had  no  right,  and  which  did  not 

render  his  person  sacred,  especially  since  the  apartment  where 
holy  Mass  was  celebrated  was  not  a church  but  only  a ware- 
house. Therefore,  the  Indian  should  be  turned  over  within 
so  many  hours;  if  this  was  not  done,  he  (Rivera)  would 
take  him  out  by  force  and  bring  him  to  the  guardhouse  as  a 
prisoner.” 

“Having  considered  the  document,  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster  with 
the  assistance  of  the  two  Fathers  then  at  the  mission  (Fr. 
Lasuen  and  Fr.  Amurrio),  drew  up  a reply,  saying  they 
could  not  hand  over  the  Indian  without  the  express  command 
of  the  ecclesiastical  Superior  to  whom  the  matter  pertained; 
and  that  if  his  honor,  the  captain,  dared  to  take  him  out 
by  force,  he  would  stand  excommunicated,  of  which  this 
reply  was  to  serve  as  a notification.  At  the  same  time,  Fr. 
Fuster  quoted  the  authorities  they  had  consulted  before 
making  the  answer.  No  sooner  had  Rivera  received  the  let- 
ter, than  he  collected  his  troops  and  with  them  surrounded 
the  chapel.  Then  he  himself,  girded  with  his  sword,  the 
baton  in  one  hand  and  a lighted  candle  in  the  other,  entered 
the  chapel.  Seizing  the  poor  neophyte,  who  had  taken  refuge 
in  the  sanctuary,  Rivera  dragged  him  from  the  chapel  and 
took  him  to  the  guardhouse,  where  he  ordered  him  to  be 
put  in  the  stocks. 

“The  Fathers  from  the  door  of  their  habitation  witnessed 
and  heard  with  amazement  the  tumult  which  they  were 
powerless  to  stop.  Fr.  Vicente,  as  minister  in  charge, 
vigorously  protested,  however,  against  the  force  employed 
in  his  church.  In  a loud  voice  he  exclaimed  that  the  captain 
and  all  who  had  participated  in  taking  the  Indian  from  the 
church  were  excommunicated  and  would  be  regarded  as 


74  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


such.  The  captain  responded,  ‘Alright,  Father,  your  Rev- 
erence may  protest.  There  goes  the  protest,’  he  added, 
pointing  to  the  prisoner  whom  they  were  taking  away. 

“Next  day,  Fr.  Vicente  sent  another  note,  and  after  a 
certain  interval,  a third,  warning  the  captain  to  return  the 
culprit  under  pain  of  having  the  excommunication  published. 
Far  from  complying,  however,  Rivera  disdained  even  to  read 
the  notes.  Two  days  later,  on  the  feast  of  Our  Lady  of 
Sorrows,6  the  Fathers  made  ready  to  sing  a High  Mass.  But 
before  beginning,  the  people  being  already  assembled,  Fr. 
Lasuen,  who  was  to  be  the  celebrant  of  the  holy  Mass,  turned 
to  the  people  and  said,  ‘Senores,  we  are  about  to  sing  holy 
Mass  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  in  this  church.  It  has 
been  said  that  I had  declared  this  edifice  not  to  be  a church ; 
I here  maintain,  however,  that  I never  made  such  an  asser- 
tion. I have  always  averred  and  I repeat  it  now,  that  this 
is  the  church  of  the  presidio,  and  that  all  those  who  took  part 
in  removing  the  Indian  now  held  a prisoner  in  the  guard- 
house, are  excommunicated,  and  that,  therefore,  they  may 
not  assist  at  holy  Mass.  Hence,  if  any  one  of  them  should 
be  in  the  church,  he  will  leave ; otherwise,  I am  not  permit- 
ted to  proceed  with  holy  Mass.’  At  this,  all  who  had  co- 
operated went  out,  and  the  Fathers  sang  the  holy  Mass.” 

If  the  reader  opens  the  Sacred  Scriptures  at  the  nine- 
teenth chapter  of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  verses  2,  3,  7, 
he  will  find  specific  ordinances  explaining  the  attitude  of 
the  priests  at  San  Diego.  “I  command  thee  that  thou 
separate  three  cities  at  equal  distances  from  one  another  . . . 
so  that  he  who  is  forced  to  flee  for  manslaughter  may 
have  near  at  hand  whither  to  escape  . . The  Catholic 
Church  (and  under  Spanish  rule  this  was  the  law  of  the 
dominion)  extended  this  immunity  for  refugees  to  all  her 
churches.  Accordingly,  any  one  accused  of  murder,  whether 
guilty  or  not,  who  took  refuge  in  such  a sanctuary,  was  re- 
garded as  inviolable  while  in  the  shadow  of  the  altar.  Civil 


e In  that  year,  1776,  the  feast  fell  on  March  29,  Easter  being  on 
April  7. 


DON  FERNANDO  DE  REV  ERA  VIOLATES  CHURCH  ASYLUM 


76  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

and  military  authorities  could  do  nothing  but  formally  de- 
mand that  the  accused  be  delivered  up  to  justice.  The  priest 
in  charge  would  give  up  the  refugee  only  after  the  secular 
authorities  had  promised  in  writing  that  the  accused  should 
have  a fair  trial.  An  official,  who  entered  the  sanctuary  of 
the  church  armed  for  the  purpose  of  forcibly  seizing  the 
refugee  and  without  giving  the  required  bond,  incurred 
excommunication.  Rivera  knew  this  law  both  of  the  Church 
and  of  Spain  very  well;  but  because  Fr.  Serra  had  unwit- 
tingly offended  the  officer’s  pride,  Rivera  determined  to  seize 
this  opportunity  to  show  his  superiority  over  the  Fathers. 
Indeed,  he  treated  the  promulgation  of  the  excommunication 
with  contempt;  but  soon  to  his  cost  he  learned  that  he  had 
overreached  the  mark.  No  one  would  associate  with  an  ex- 
communicated person ; nor  could  one  under  excommunication 
attend  public  worship,  or  receive  the  Sacraments.  Rivera’s 
companions  in  the  crime  against  Church  Asylum,  doubtless, 
experienced  the  consequences  more  quickly,  and  possibly 
made  him  feel  it.  Too  proud  to  acknowledge  his  fault,  the 
captain  approached  Fr.  Serra  at  Monterey  and,  over  the 
heads  of  the  San  Diego  Fathers,  sought  to  obtain  release 
from  the  necessity  of  giving  satisfaction  for  the  insult  to 
the  Church  as  well  as  for  the  scandal  given  to  the  amazed 
Indian  converts.  Fr.  Serra,  however,  after  hearing  Rivera’s 
quibble  about  the  warehouse  not  being  a church,  and  after 
reading  the  letters  received  from  the  Fathers  of  San  Diego, 
decided  that  the  captain  would  have  to  restore  the  Indian 
to  the  same  church  in  charge  of  the  Fathers  and  that  in 
this  event  they  themselves  would  lift  the  excommunication. 
Whether  or  not  Rivera  followed  these  instructions  is  not 
known.7 

Meanwhile,  the  Fathers  of  San  Diego  reported  to  their 
Superior  that  after  months  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  restore 
the  mission,  or  to  proceed  with  the  founding  of  San  Juan 


7 For  details  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  185-188, 
668-670.  Fr.  Font  writes  that  Rivera  entered  the  chapel  with  drawn 
sword — con  la  espada  desnuda  en  la  mano. 


Mission  San  Diego 


77 


Capistrano,  and  that  the  two  Fathers  destined  for  this  mis- 
sion, Fr.  Lasuen  and  Fr.  Amurrio,  as  also  Fr.  Fuster,  were 
chafing  under  their  inactivity.  Disheartened  and  disgusted 
they  petitioned  Fr.  Serra  to  permit  them  to  retire  to  their 
mother  College.  Fr.  Serra  had  long  sought  an  opportunity 
to  visit  San  Diego  in  person.  At  last  he  set  sail  in  the  San 
Antonio,  which  left  Monterey  on  June  30,  1776.  On  July 
11,  he  affectionately  embraced  his  disconsolate  subjects.  Fr. 
Vicente  de  Santa  Maria  had  come  along. 

After  studying  the  situation,  Fr.  Serra  immediately  took 
steps  for  the  restoration  of  the  destroyed  establishment.  Ap- 
proaching Captain  Diego  Choquet  of  the  San  Antonio,  he 
asked  him  to  lend  his  sailors  for  the  work  of  rebuilding  the 
mission,  as  long  as  the  ship  should  tarry  in  the  harbor,  and 
provided  Captain  Rivera  furnished  a sufficient  guard.  To 
the  delight  of  the  Fr.  Presidente,  Choquet  answered  like  a 
Christian,  Fr.  Palou  remarks;  not  only  should  the  sailors 
assist,  the  captain  replied,  but  he  himself  would  act  as  fore- 
man and,  if  necessary,  as  ordinary  laborer.8 

In  an  official  note,  Fr.  Serra  informed  Comandante 
Rivera  that  now  after  eight  months’  waiting,  the  savages 
being  entirely  pacified  and  the  ringleaders  imprisoned,  as  his 
Honor  had  reported  to  the  viceroy,  the  Fathers  intended 
to  begin  rebuilding  the  burnt  mission  with  the  aid  of  Captain 
Choquet  and  his  men  who  had  readily  offered  their  services, 
and  that  nothing  more  was  required  than  a sufficient  guard 
which,  he  trusted,  the  commander  would  supply.  Much  as 
this  was  against  his  grain,  Rivera  dared  not  refuse  the 
guards;  and,  therefore,  he  detailed  a corporal  and  five  sol- 
diers to  protect  the  Fathers  and  laborers  while  at  work  on  the 
mission.  It  was  decided  that  on  August  22  the  work  should 
commence. 

When  the  time  arrived,  Fr.  Serra,  two  of  the  missionaries, 
Captain  Choquet  accompanied  by  one  of  his  pilots,  the  mate 
and  twenty  sailors,  fifty  Indian  laborers,  and  the  corporal 


s 1 1 que  no  solo  los  marineros  sino  que  el  mismo  en  persona  iria  de 
sobre-estante,  j si  fuese  necesario  de  peon. 1 1 


78  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

with  five  soldiers,  set  out  for  the  site  of  the  ruined  mission. 
The  laborers  went  to  work  with  a will.  Some  collected 
stones,  others  prepared  the  ground  for  the  stone  foundations, 
while  the  rest  made  adobes  for  the  wall  of  the  quadrangle 
behind  which  they  could  with  security  erect  the  church,  habi- 
tations, and  other  buildings.  For  fifteen  days,  all  toiled 
without  any  sign  of  trouble  from  savages.  During  this  time, 
the  men  had  brought  together  a large  quantity  of  stone  and 
had  made  seven  thousand  adobe  bricks.  In  two  weeks,  they 
hoped  to  have  the  walls  of  the  quadrangle  nearly  completed. 
Fr.  Serra  nourished  the  hope  of  finishing  the  mission  before 
the  ship  would  have  to  leave ; after  that,  he  thought,  it  would 
be  time  for  sowing  wheat.  But  the  arch-enemy  had  con- 
cocted another  scheme  to  frustrate  the  plans  of  Fr.  Presi- 
dente,  and  to  carry  it  out  he  employed  no  less  a person  than 
Don  Fernando  Rivera  himself. 

A neophyte  of  Mission  San  Diego  went  one  day  to  the 
presidio  and  told  the  comandante  how  he  had  heard  from 
a pagan  Indian  that  the  rancherias  of  the  savages  intended 
to  repeat  their  assault,  and  that  they  were  making  many 
arrows.  Rivera  at  once  sent  out  the  sergeant  of  the  presidio 
with  a party  of  soldiers  to  ascertain  the  truth.  On  his  re- 
turn, he  stated  that  not  the  least  sign  had  been  observed 
that  might  warrant  belief  in  the  rumor.  Nevertheless,  Don 
Fernando  credited  the  story  of  the  neophyte,  and  it  fright- 
ened him  to  such  a degree  that,  without  saying  a word  to 
Fr.  Serra,  who  that  day  happened  to  be  at  the  presidio,  he 
went  out  to  the  mission  site  with  some  soldiers.  The  men, 
in  quite  a cheerful  mood,  were  resting  that  day,  because  it 
was  Sunday  and  the  feast  of  Our  Lady’s  Nativity.  On 
arriving  there,  Don  Fernando  called  Captain  Choquet  aside 
and  told  him  he  was  convinced  the  savages  would  make 
another  attack  on  the  mission.  He  had,  therefore,  de- 
termined to  withdraw  the  soldiers  and  advised  the  captain 
to  retire  likewise  with  his  men,  since  they  owed  as  much 
to  the  royal  service.  “You  will  also  do  me  the  favor,”  he 
added,  “to  notify  the  Fathers ; for  I can  not  tell  them,  know- 
ing what  a pain  it  will  cause  them.” 


Mission  San  Diego 


79 


Rivera  was  not  sincere.  He  had  in  various  ways  proved 
that  he  cared  naught  how  much  he  pained  the  friars ; other- 
wise he  would  not  have  subjected  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Amur- 
rio  to  almost  a year  of  intolerable  idleness,  when  he  should 
have  assisted  them  to  proceed  with  the  founding  of  Mission 
San  Juan  Capistrano.  Nor  was  Choquet  deceived. 

Despite  his  clear  and  forceful  arguments,  the  captain  of 
the  ship  could  not  make  Rivera  change  his  mind.  When  he 
asked  the  comandante  whether  he  had  made  any  effort  to 
ascertain  the  truth,  the  latter  replied  that  he  had  not  done 
so,  but  that,  since  he  noticed  the  Indians  were  repeating  the 
story,  he  took  it  to  be  true.  “At  another  time  when  rumors 
like  these  circulated,”  the  indignant  Choquet  rejoined,  “before 
taking  any  steps,  you  ordered  the  sergeant  to  investigate  and 
found  them  to  be  lies ; for  the  rancherias  were  very  quiet  and 
the  Indians  very  sorry  and  repentant  for  what  had  happened. 
Command  that  investigations  be  made  now,  and  you  will 
learn  that,  with  all  the  armed  troops  here,  there  is  no  reason 
for  alarm.  It  would  seem  more  to  the  purpose,  if  you  have 
any  misgivings,  to  increase  the  guards,  rather  than  have 
them  retire,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  Spanish  arms.”  Instead  of 
convincing  the  comandante,  these  arguments  angered  him 
all  the  more.  Leaving  strict  orders  that  his  own  troops 
should  withdraw,  he  returned  to  the  presidio. 

“I  see  no  reason  for  withdrawing  and  it  is  a downright 
shame,”  said  the  captain  to  the  Fathers ; “but  I do  not  care 
to  have  a quarrel  with  this  man,  and,  therefore,  I have 
resolved  to  leave.”  The  missionaries  naturally  felt  the  blow 
very  keenly;  but  none  more  so  than  the  venerable  Fr. 
Presidente.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  proposed  retreat,  he 
was  almost  beside  himself.  He  could  find  no  other  words 
to  express  the  pain  of  his  heart  than  “Let  the  will  of  God  be 
done,  who  alone  can  provide  a remedy.”  The  San  Antonio 
now  set  sail  for  San  Bias,  where  the  captain  reported  Rivera’s 
unworthy  conduct  to  the  viceroy. 

The  darkest  hour  of  the  night,  it  is  said,  is  the  hour  be- 
fore dawn.  Such  was  the  experience,  at  least,  of  Fr. 
Serra.  About  this  time,  an  old  Indian  came  up  from  Lower 


8o  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


California  and  assured  the  Fathers  that  Corporal  Guillermo 
Carrillo,  whom  Rivera  had  despatched  south  with  letters  for 
the  viceroy,  was  at  Mission  San  Fernando  de  Velicata,  wait- 
ing for  soldiers  on  their  way  to  San  Diego ; and  so  it  was. 
On  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  September  29,  twenty-five 
soldiers,  whom  Captain  Pedro  Fages  had  recruited  at  Guada- 
lajara by  order  of  the  viceroy,  arrived  at  the  presidio.  They 
brought  letters  for  Fr.  Serra  from  Viceroy  Bucareli  and 
from  the  Fr.  Guardian  of  the  College.  Under  date  of  April 
3,  1776,  Bucareli  wrote: 

On  March  26  last,  I wrote  to  Your  Reverence,  expressing  my  great 
sorrow  at  the  terrible  disaster  which  had  befallen  the  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  and  telling  you  of  the  instructions  which  I at  once  gave  in 
order  to  remedy,  as  far  as  possible,  the  damage  which  might  result 
from  not  having  reinforcements  at  hand  for  the  garrison  and  mission. 
Now,  however,  in  view  of  your  letter  and  the  very  prudent  reflections 
which  Your  Reverence  makes,  you  being  of  the  opinion  that  it  will 
be  more  expedient  to  attract  the  rebellious  neophytes  than  to  punish 
them,  I reply  to  Your  Reverence  that  I have*  so  directed,  by  command- 
ing on  this  same  date  Commandant  Don  Fernando  Rivera  y Moncada 
to  act  accordingly,  and  to  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  the  most  suitable 
means  for  pacifying  and  tranquillizing  the  souls  as  also,  perhaps,  for 
converting  the  neighboring  pagans,  if,  namely,  they  experience  kind- 
ness and  good  treatment  when  for  their  excesses  they  will  doubtless 
be  expecting  castigation  and  the  devastation  of  their  rancherias. 

Moreover,  I instructed  the  said  officer  that  the  main  thing  now  is 
the  restoration  of  Mission  San  Diego  and  the  refounding  of  San  Juan 
Capistrano;  the  former  on  the  same  place  before  occupied,  the  latter 
on  the  site  selected  before  the  attack  happened.  ...  I communi- 
cate all  this  to  Your  Reverence  for  your  satisfaction  and  consolation, 
hoping  that  under  the  impulse  of  the  apostolic  zeal  which  animates 
you  for  the  welfare  of  those  missions,  Your  Reverence  will  contribute 
to  render  my  instructions  effective,  assured  that  I am  disposed  on  my 
part  to  provide  every  assistance  possible. 

Had  this  letter  of  the  noble  viceroy  arrived  a few  weeks 
earlier,  Fr.  Palou  remarks,  the  good  Fr.  Presidente  would 
have  been  spared  all  the  distress  that  Rivera’s  spite  work 
caused  him.  However,  the  haughty  commander’s  triumph 
lasted  only  three  weeks.  Immediately  after  reading  the  glor- 
ious news,  the  happy  Fr.  Serra  had  the  bells  rung  and  on 
the  following  morning  sang  a High  Mass  of  thanksgiving. 


Mission  San  Diego 


81 


Rivera  assigned  twelve  soldiers  as  guards  for  the  mission  and 
set  at  liberty  the  Indian  prisoners.  Not  wishing  to  be 
present  at  the  opening  of  the  mission,  the  restoration  of 
which  he  had  wilfully  delayed,  Don  Fernando  accompanied 
by  twelve  soldiers  started  for  the  north  on  October  11,  in 
order  to  execute  the  viceroy’s  command  for  the  founding  of 
the  two  missions  of  San  Francisco  and  Santa  Clara,  which 
he  likewise  had  delayed. 

Meanwhile,  Captain  Choquet’s  report  reached  Viceroy 
Bucareli.  The  latter  felt  so  mortified  at  Rivera’s  conduct 
that  he  ordered  Don  Felipe  de  Neve,  governor  of  both 
Lower  and  Upper  California,  to  take  up  his  residence  at 
Monterey  and  to  work  in  harmony  with  the  Fr.  Presidente. 
To  Fr.  Serra,  Bucareli,  under  date  of  December  25,  1776, 
penned  a beautiful  and  consoling  letter,  similar  to  his  pre- 
ceding communication.9 

With  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Fuster,  and  escorted  by  the 
twelve  guards,  Fr.  Serra  proceeded  to  the  old  mission  site 
in  order  to  begin  the  restoration  of  the  buildings.  Aided 
by  the  neophytes,  who  now  were  quite  willing  to  work, 
such  progress  was  made  in  a short  time  that  the  Fr.  Presi- 
dente felt  the  work  of  completing  the  necessary  structures 
could  be  entrusted  to  the  resident  missionaries.  Stationing 
Fr.  Lasuen  and  Fr.  Figuer  at  the  mission,  he  in  company 
with  Fathers  Mugartegui  and  Amurrio  hastened  to  found 
Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano.  The  heroic  Fr.  Fuster  was 
placed  at  Mission  San  Gabriel  as  supernumerary.  By  Octo- 
ber 17,  1776,  the  buildings  were  ready  for  occupation.  From 
that  date  the  Fathers  again  felt  at  home ; they  were  once 
more  able  to  celebrate  holy  Mass  in  a real  church,  instead 
of  having  to  utilize  a part  of  a warehouse,  as  at  the  presidio. 

Don  Rivera  had  been  ordered  to  release  the  prisoners ; 
but  he  seems  to  have  taken  his  time  about  it  or  to  have 
liberated  only  a portion  of  them.  At  all  events,  according 
to  Bancroft,  the  comandante  says  in  a letter,  dated  February 


9 See  Palou,  Vida , pp.  189-195;  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii, 

pp.  210-218. 


82  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

27,  1 777,  that  thirteen  prisoners  implicated  in  the  revolt 
were  still  at  the  presidio.  In  a letter  of  June  3,  1777,  how- 
ever, he  writes  that  on  receipt  of  the  viceroy’s  orders  of 
February  2,  the  troops  were  drawn  up,  and  the  prisoners 
called  out.  After  being  harangued  on  the  enormity  of  their 
offense  which  merited  death,  the  prisoners  were  warned 
that  if  they  abused  the  present  clemency  they  would  have 
to  expect  the  severest  penalty ; then  they  were  dismissed 
with  an  exhortation  by  the  priests.  Both  soldiers  and  accused 
united  in  a cheer,  while  a salute  from  the  two  cannons  cele- 
brated the  termination  of  a painful  affair. 

One  of  the  prisoners  failed  to  benefit  by  this  kindness.  He 
had  committed  suicide  the  year  before,  on  August  15,  the 
anniversary  of  the  assault  that  occurred  seven  years  before 
when  he  had  attempted  to  kill  Fr.  Serra.  Far  from  re- 
penting, this  prisoner  stubbornly  persisted  in  his  pagan 
errors.  Since  he  was  one  of  the  chief  conspirators  who 
ruined  the  mission  in  1775,  we  may  presume  that  he  was 
an  Indian  medicine  man ; that  would  explain  everything. 
Having  been  captured  while  perpetrating  his  last  crime,  he 
was  placed  with  his  fellow  conspirators  in  the  jail  of  the 
presidio.  The  zealous  Fr.  Serra,  hoping  to  convert  the  un- 
fortunate man,  visited  him  and  exhorted  him  to  repent,  assur- 
ing him  that  Almighty  God  would  pardon  his  crimes ; but, 
despite  all  sympathy  and  loving  appeals,  the  obstinate  pagan 
would  not  utter  as  much  as  a word.  The  other  prisoners, 
indeed,  were  moved  to  tears  by  the  ardent  exhortation  of 
Fr.  Serra  and  begged  him  to  intercede  for  them,  because 
they  wanted  to  become  Christians,  as  in  fact  they  later  did ; 
but  the  unfortunate  chief  conspirator,  on  the  morning  of 
the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  August 
15,  1776,  was  found  to  have  strangled  himself  to  death. 
It  caused  not  a little  astonishment  and  comment  that,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  any  one,  the  Indian  could  put  a rope 
around  his  neck  and  hang  himself  in  the  very  midst  of  his 
fellow  prisoners.10 


io  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  p.  302. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Condition  of  Mission  Registers. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Nota  Previa. — Fr.  Fus- 
ter’s  Note. — Fr.  Fuster’s  First  Annual  Report. — Statistics. — Report 
for  1777  by  FF.  Lasuen  and  Figuer. — Savages  Plotting. — Battle. — 
Prisoners. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Letters. — Lack  of  Grain.-^The  Fr.  Presi- 
dente  Confirming  at  San  Diego. — Scanty  Grain  for  Planting. — The 
Fathers  All  to  All. 

IN  the  conflagration,  on  November  4,  1775,  not  only  the 
mission  buildings  but  also  the  mission  registers  were  de- 
stroyed. This  was  a heavy  and,  in  part,  an  irreparable  loss. 
These  books,  kept  at  all  the  missions,  were  bound  in  flexible 
leather  covers.  Besides  those  in  which  all  Baptisms,  Mar- 
riages, and  Deaths  were  recorded,  there  was  the  so-called 
Padron,  containing  a list  of  the  converts  with  notes  regard- 
ing their  antecedents  and  present  conditions.  Fortunately, 
these  mission  records  had  been  begun  only  five  years  before 
the  San  Diego  disaster.  It  was,  therefore,  possible  to  re- 
store, to  a great  extent  at  least,  the  entries  from  the  memory 
of  the  Fathers  and  of  others  belonging  to  the  mission.  This 
was  done,  Fr.  Serra  himself  writing  the  title  page  to  the 
three  registers  and  prefacing  the  new  entries  with  a NOTA 
PREVIA.  In  the  Baptismal  Register  this  Nota  reads  as 
follows : 

“The  first  book  in  which  the  entries  of  Baptisms,  as  they 
had  been  administered,  were  noted  with  due  distinction  and 
clearness;  from  the  beginning  of  the  founding  of  this  Mis- 
sion of  San  Diego,  the  entries  had  reached,  on  November 
5,  1775,  the  number  470.1  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  along 
with  the  rest  of  the  official  church  books,  the  sacred  vest- 
ments and  vessels,  the  buildings,  furniture,  and  implements 
of  said  mission.  Among  them  were  also  the  padron  and 


1 This  statement  was  made  on  the  authority  of  Fr.  Fuster,  who, 
after  closer  investigation,  found  the  number  of  baptisms  administered 
by  the  end  of  December,  1775,  to  be  only  431. 


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Mission  San  Diego  85 

other  papers  with  the  aid  of  which,  in  a general  way  at  least, 
the  lost  books  might  have  been  restored. 

“The  said  mission  was  first  established  near  where  at 
present  the  military  camp  or  presidio,  likewise  called  San 
Diego,  is  located,  facing  the  famous  port  of  the  same  name, 
but  which  in  the  language  of  the  natives  is  called  Cosoy. 
On  account  of  greater  facilities  in  planting,  stock  raising, 
etc.,  it  was  moved  about  two  leagues  toward  the  north- 
northeast  to  a spot  called,  in  the  language  of  the  Indians, 
Nipaguay.  Here  it  was  that  the  devouring  conflagration  oc- 
curred, the  transfer  having  been  effected  in  the  month  of 
August,  1774. 

“The  authors  of  that  lamentable  destruction  were  savages 
and  perverted  neophytes,  who  united  more  than  seventy 
rancherias  into  a formidable  array  and  invaded  the  mission 
with  an  armed  force.  They  pillaged  part  of  it,  burnt  the 
greater  portion,  wounded  a few  resisting  guards,  killed  the 
•blacksmith  from  Tepic,  Jose  Manuel  Arroyo,  and  the  car- 
penter from  Guadalajara,  Jose  Urselino,  and  with  untold 
cruelty  the  principal  and  senior  missionary,  Reverend  Fr. 
Lector  Luis  Jaume,  who  was  a member  of  the  Province 
of  Majorca,  as  is  noted  in  the  Death  Register.  Not  without 
the  special  providence  of  the  Most  High,  his  companion 
missionary,  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster,  escaped  death.  He  is  the 
only  one  who  can  give  a more  complete  account  of  those 
baptized  and  thus  possibly  restore  this  register  down  to  the 
day  of  the  fire.” 

Fr.  Serra  covers  several  pages  with  notes,  which  are 
immaterial  here.  He  concludes  his  Nota  Previa  as  follows : 

“Finally,  for  better  information,  I shall  note  down  the 
various  missionaries  this  mission  had  from  its  foundation 
to  the  day  of  the  fire.  They  succeeded  one  another  as 
follows : The  first  two,  mentioned  on  the  title  page,  perse 

vered  in  our  mission  until  the  middle  of  April  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  i.e.,  1770.  In  these  nine  months,  we  labored 
merely  to  secure  the  good-will  of  the  savages  and  to  make 
clear  to  them,  as  far  as  possible,  the  object  of  our  coming 
to  this  country.  Passing  over  in  silence  the  peril  our  lives 


86  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


were  in  during  the  assault  made  on  us  and  other  little 
troubles,  I will  say  only  that  in  this  period  we  administered 
not  one  Baptism.  On  Easter  Sunday,  April  15,  I set  sail 
from  this  port  in  search  of  Monterey,  in  order  to  found  a 
mission  there.  In  my  place  I left  Rev.  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez, 
Fr.  Juan  Viscaino  having  gone  to  Mexico  by  way  of  Lower 
California.  The  two  Fathers  Fernando  Parron  and  Francisco 
Gomez  remained  an  entire  year,  during  which  they  admin- 
istered the  first  Baptisms,  thus  making  a happy  beginning 
of  Christianity  in  this  country,  as  will  be  seen  later.  After 
little  more  than  a year,  both  Fathers  departed  on  account  of 
ill  health,  Fr.  Parron  for  Lower  California  and  the  other 
by  sea  for  Mexico.  In  their  places  I appointed  Fathers 
Francisco  Dumetz  and  Luis  Jaume,  both  of  the  Province  of 
Majorca.  They  had  shortly  before  arrived  in  this  country 
by  sea  with  eight  other  Religious,  all  from  our  afore- 
mentioned College  of  San  Fernando  de  Mexico.  The  second 
named  of  these  Fathers  persevered  in  his  ministry  until  he 
died  and  sealed  it  with  his  blood,  as  already  stated.  Fr. 
Dumetz  remained  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of  which  I 
called  him  to  Monterey.  In  his  place  as  assistant  came  Fr. 
Juan  Crespi,  till  then  my  companion  in  the  Mission  of  San 
Carlos  de  Monterey.  At  the  end  of  August,  1772,  I found 
myself  obliged  to  go  by  land  from  the  Monterey  mission  to 
this  one  at  San  Diego.  On  the  way,  I founded,  September 
1,  the  Mission  of  San  Luis  Obispo  and  reached  this  Mis- 
sion of  San  Diego  about  the  middle  of  September.  Send- 
ing Fr.  Juan  Crespi  back  to  Monterey  in  order  that  in 
company  with  Fr.  Dumetz  he  might  serve  that  mission,  I 
assigned,  as  missionary  to  this  one  and  as  companion  to 
Fr.  Luis  Jaume,  the  Reverend  Fr.  Thomas  de  la  Pena,  who 
had  recently  arrived  from  one  of  the  missions  of  Lower 
California.  Then,  about  the  middle  of  October  of  the  same 
year,  I embarked  for  Mexico  in  order  to  solicit  the  regula- 
tions expedient  for  the  permanence  and  extension  of  these 
new  missions.  Fr.  De  la  Pena  continued  a whole  year 
in  the  ministry.  In  the  month  of  September,  1773,  he  was 
replaced  by  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster,  who  with  other  Religious 


Mission  San  Diego 


87 


had  arrived  shortly  after  the  missions,  of  Lower  California 
had  been  ceded  to  the  Dominican  Fathers.  The  change  was 
made  by  the  Rev.  Fr.  Lector  Francisco  Palou,  Ex-Presidente 
of  those  Lower  California  Missions  and  actual  Vice-Presi- 
dente  of  the  ones  in  Upper  California.  When,  in  March, 
1774,  I returned  from  Mexico,  I approved  this  assignment 
of  missionaries.  Fr.  Fuster  persevered  and  he  is  here  to  this 
day.  In  testimony  of  which  I subscribe  at  this  Mission  and 
Presidio  of  San  Diego,  September  16,  1776. — Fr.  Junipero 
Serra.” 

In  his  prefatory  note  to  the  Death  Register,  Fr.  Serra 
says:  “Many  of  the  crews  of  the  ships  ( San  Carlos  and 
San  Antonio)  arrived  (in  1769)  stricken  with  scurvy.  In 
a short  time  some  of  them  were  at  death’s  door,  among  them 
half  of  the  detachment  of  twenty-five  volunteers  from  Cata- 
lonia. The  consequence  was  that,  a few  months  after  the 
founding  of  the  mission,  it  became  necessary  to  adjust  the 
count  of  more  than  sixty  dead.  All  died  after  receiving 
the  Sacraments  of  Penance,  Holy  Eucharist,  and  Extreme 
Unction,  with  the  exception  of  one  youth  who  failed  to 
receive  Holy  Viaticum.  Fr.  Parron,  though  ill  himself, 
labored  above  all  others  with  inflexible  intrepidity,  admin- 
istering the  Sacraments  to  the  sick.  He  was  of  the  Province 
of  San  Miguel  de  Estremadura.  May  God  reward  him. 

“The  names  and  entries  of  the  dead  were  written  in  the 
book  that  was  burnt.  For  those  who  had  passed  away  be- 
fore my  arrival,  Fr.  Parron  let  me  have  a well  kept  memo- 
randum in  which  were  noted  the  dead  whom  he  had  attended. 
Although  I remember  some  of  the  names,  the  number  of 
those  regarding  whom  I do  not  remember  the  details  is  much 
larger.  Therefore,  I omit  reproducing  them,  contenting 
myself  with  asking  God  our  Lord  that  the  names  of  all 
may  be  written  in  heaven  and  that  through  his  mercy 
their  souls  may  rest  in  peace.  Amen. 

“Furthermore,  of  the  first  land  expedition,  there  died  at 
different  places  on  the  road  five  Indians,  who  had  come 
from  various  missions  of  Lower  California.  To  these  Fr. 
Juan  Crespi  administered  the  Sacraments  of  Penance  and 


88  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Extreme  Unction,  and  gave  burial  in  the  respective  localities. 
Their  names  also  were  entered  by  me  in  the  afore-mentioned 
book.  May  God  our  Lord  have  their  names  in  the  Book 
of  Life.  Amen. 

“Finally,  no  one  of  the  second  land  expedition  died  on  the 
road.  But  after  they  had  arrived,  four  passed  away.  One 
was  the  youth  Jose  Maria  Vegerano,  a Spaniard,  twenty  years 
of  age,  who  had  come  as  muleteer  in  my  service.  He  was 
unmarried  and  a native  of  Pueblo  de  la  Magdalena,  in  the 
diocese  of  Guadalajara.  He  died  on  August  15,  from  an 
arrow  wound  received  during  the  Indian  assault  which  oc- 
curred on  that  day.  I buried  him  that  same  day  at  night- 
fall. 

“In  the  month  of  February,  1770,  I buried,  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  Church,  Juan  Evangelista  Benno,  an  Indian 
youth  about  eighteeen  years  of  age.  He  was  the  son  of 
Carlos  Tapia  of  the  Mission  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  in 
Lower  California,  whence,  with  the  blessing  of  his  parents, 
he  set  out  with  me  as  my  servant.  He  died  after  receiving 
the  Sacraments  of  Penance,  Holy  Eucharist,  and  Extreme 
Unction.  I buried  him  clothed  in  our  habit.  The  corpse 
was  present  at  the  Requiem  High  Mass  which  was  celebrated 
with  as  much  solemnity  as  possible. 

“At  the  same  time,  a few  days  intervening,  two  Indian 
neophytes  departed  this  life.  They  were  recent  converts 
of  the  newly  founded  mission  in  Lower  California,  that  is 
to  say  of  Mission  Santa  Maria.  One  of  them,  single  and 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  was  called  Bartolome;  the  other, 
apparently  his  cousin  and  Mateo  by  name,  was  somewhat 
older  and  married.  I heard  their  confessions  as  well  as  I 
could ; it  was  attended  with  some  difficulty,  however,  owing 
to  their  meagre  knowledge  and  to  the  lack  of  interpreters. 
It  seems  to  me  that  Extreme  Unction  was  administered  to 
them.  That  all  this  may  be  in  evidence  and  that  this  book 
be  continued,  beginning  anew  from  the  first  neophytes  that 
died  and  received  burial,  I so  certify  and  subscribe,  on  Octo- 
ber 25,  1776. — Fr.  Junipero  Serra.” 

Immediately  after  the  signature  of  Fr.  Serra,  follows  this 


Mission  San  Diego 


89 


note  by  Fr.  Fuster:  “I  am  not  able  to  account  for,  nor 

do  the  Indians  remember  all  the  neophytes  who  died  at  this 
mission.  I can  note  in  this  book  only  those  who  died  dur- 
ing the  time  I exercised  the  ministry  at  this  Mission  of  San 
Diego.  It  is  not  easy  to  make  the  entries  chronologically, 
because  I do  not  remember  in  which  year  each  one  died ; nor 
can  I indicate  whether  or  not  they  received  the  Sacraments, 
though  I suppose  the  majority  did.  Since  this  book  takes 
the  place  of  the  one  that  was  burnt,  and  since  Fr.  Luis  Jaume 
shed  his  blood  in  return  for  the  benefits  he  bestowed  upon 
and  the  instruction  he  gave  to  these  neophytes  by  word  and 
example,  I shall  begin  with  the  death  entry  of  said  Father.” 
After  relating  what  'happened  on  November  5,  1775,  Fr. 
Fuster  makes  the  entries  in  the  regular  order,  beginning  with 
Fr.  Jaume;  then  follows  the  name  of  Jose  Ursulino,  the 
blacksmith,  and  so  on. 

In  the  new  Baptismal  Register,  Fr.  Serra  enumerates  the 
Baptisms  administered  by  Fathers  Parron  and  Gomez,  six- 
teen in  number.  Fr.  Fuster  then  enters  those  administered  by 
Fathers  Dumetz  and  Jaume,  from  the  middle  of  1771  to 
about  the  middle  of  1773;  these  run  from  number  17  to  53 
and  are  all,  he  says,  that  he  could  discover.  Then  he  finds 
that  numbers  54  to  89  were  entered  from  September  1773 
to  August  1774.  All  these  Baptisms  had  been  administered 
at  the  first  mission  site,  Cosoy. 

“In  August,  1774,”  Fr.  Fuster  notes,  “Mission  San  Diego 
was  moved  from  its  old  location,  where  now  the  presidio  of 
the  same  name  stands  and  which  place  the  natives  called 
Cosoy,  to  this  new  site  which  by  the  same  natives  is  called 
Nipaguay.  From  that  time  until  the  revolt,  the  following 
Baptisms  were  administered,  beginning  with  the  day  of  our 
holy  Father  San  Diego,  on  whose  feast  the  church  was  dedi- 
cated. On  that  day,  I baptized  numbers  90  to  93.”  Then 
Fr.  Fuster  enters  all  who  were  baptized  thereafter  to  the  day 
of  the  savage  attack,  November  5,  1775,  and  to  seven  weeks 
later,  i.  e.  December  31.  These  run  up  to  number  431, 2 all 


2 See  note  1. 


90  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


that  he  could  discover.  After  the  destruction  of  the  mission 
on  November  5,  the  Fathers  lived  at  the  presidio.  Here  com- 
paratively few  Baptisms  were  administered,  in  fact,  until 
December,  1776,  only  twenty-two.  The  first  Baptism  in  the 
restored  mission  church  at  Nipaguay,  or  Our  Lady  of  Pilar, 
took  place  on  December  8,  1776.  It  is  number  454  in  the 
list.” 

On  March  20,  1777,  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster  compiled  the  first 
Annual  Report  for  Mission  San  Diego.  After  briefly  re- 
counting the  destruction  of  the  mission,  in  which  everything 
pertaining  to  it  was  lost,  including  documents  and  books 
he  enumerates  under  various  head«  what  the  mission  now 
possessed,  most  of  which  had  com’e  by  ship  since  the 
disaster. 

Church.— “ This  is  a chapel  where  holy  Mass  is  celebrated. 
The  individuals  attend  it,  remaining  outside,  however,  be- 
cause the  church  could  not  for  want  of  supplies  be  com- 
pleted.” Chapel  and  sacristy  contained  the  following  articles : 
a white,  ordinary  chasuble  and  an  old  red  one  of  damask; 
another  old  one  “which  serves  for  all  colors” ; an  ordinary 
alb,  amice,  cincture,  a set  of  altar-cloths,  a silver  chalice 
and  paten ; and  a Roman  missal.  These  articles  were  at 
the  presidio.  At  the  mission  itself,  were  one  silver  chalice 
with  paten,  a fine  alb,  and  a dalmatic  which  was  remodeled 
into  a chasuble.  The  memorias  from  Mexico  added  two 
consecrated  altar  stones,  two  fine  albs,  two  corporals,  twelve 
purificators,  twelve  finger  towels,  two  cinctures,  two  sets  of 
altar-cloths,  a carpet,  surplices,  forty  pieces  of  paho  encarn- 
ado,  and  one  mirror. 

House. — The  habitations  of  the  Fathers  consist  of  two 
apartments,  both  of  adobe  and  with  thatched  roof,  one  of 
which  measures  six  by  five  varas,  the  other  five  by  four  and 
a half.  Another  little  apartment  of  the  same  size  serves 
as  refectory.  The  furniture  comprises  two  tables,  two 
chairs,  one  bench  of  alamillo  wood,  and  one  cedar  table  for 
the  refectory ; then  the  necessary  clothing  for  the  Fathers, 
one  volume,  Life  of  San  Diego,  and  two  volumes  of  the 
writings  of  Venerable  Luis  de  Granada.  There  are  also  three 


Mission  San  Diego 


9i 


cedar  chests  and  one  pine  chest  which  contain  the  clothing  to 
be  distributed  to  the  Indians.  Both  rooms  have  doors  with 
locks. 

Storeroom  or  Granary — At  present,  the  mission  possesses 
no  other  supplies  than  about  six  fanegas  of  beans,  which  were 
donated,  and  the  rations  for  the  Fathers,  which  are  served 
to  them  every  week  from  the  presidio  warehouse.  With 
these  supplies  are  maintained  four  families  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia Indians,  who  stay  at  the  mission,  and  about  eighteen 
Indian  boys,  who  are  regularly  at  hand,  besides  a few  sick 
Indians.  Furthermore,  the  Fathers  have  on  hand  for  their 
own  use  about  two  fanegas  of  flour.  Mission  San  Gabriel 
contributed  four  fanegas  of  corn,  nine  fanegas  of  wheat, 
and  one  fanega  of  beans.  The  granary  measures  five  by 
fourteen  varas.  The  walls  are  of  adobe,  the  roof  is 
thatched,  and  the  door  has  a lock. 

Kitchen  or  Pozolero. — The  kitchen  for  the  Indians  has 
one  very  large  iron  kettle  for  the  pozole  and  three  small 
copper  kettles.  The  Fathers’  kitchen  has  three  small  copper 
pots,  several  plates  of  pewter,  and  three  others  of  Guadalajara 
chinaware,  six  cups,  six  saucers  of  the  same  material,  one 
and  a half  dozen  common  plates  and  six  metates.  This 
kitchen  is  built  of  adobe  and  is  four  varas  square. 

Harness  Room  or  Jato. — This  building  measures  four  by 
five  varas.  It  contains  thirteen  harnesses,  five  cowboy  sad- 
dles, sixteen  Libranzas  de  Pita , and  five  tanned  hides. 

Farm. — During  the  month  of  November  last,  1776,  there 
were  sown  eight  fanegas  and  eight  almudes  of  wheat  and  one 
fanega  of  barley.  The  land  was  plowed  with  the  aid  of 
four  yoke  of  oxen  belonging  to  the  mission.  It  has  also 
four  ploughs  and  four  additional  ploughshares,  sixteen 
old  pickaxes,  twelve  weed  hooks,  and  five  iron  crowbars. 

Live  Stock. — The  live  stock  comprises  102  head  of  cattle, 
including  the  four  yoke  of  oxen  already  mentioned  and  the 
calves  of  this  year.  Then  there  are  304  sheep  and  goats ; 
ten  hogs,  four  of  which  have  young;  eight  tame  horses,  six 
of  which  are  old ; five  unbroken  colts ; seventeen  mares, 
one  stud,  and  one  tame  burro ; another  drove  of  mares 


92  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


with  another  stud ; twelve  foals  and  four  young  mules ; 
eighteen  head  of  mules,  some  of  which  are  not  serviceable. 

Dormitory. — In  addition  to  the  habitations  mentioned  in 
the  beginning,  there  is  a house  of  adobe  with  thatched  roof, 
seven  by  four  and  a half  varas.  This  is  used  as  a dormi- 
tory for  boys  and  young  men. 

Baptisms,  Marriages,  Deaths. — From  the  founding  of  the 
mission  to  the  end  of  December,  1776,  there  were  blessed 
114  marriages.  303  adults  and  137  children  of  both  sexes, 
in  all,  440  baptized  Indians  are  living  at  the  mission,  except 
seven  who  did  not  care  to  show  up  since  the  fire.  All  these 
have  been  entered  in  the  Padron  corresponding  to  the  num- 
ber in  the  Baptismal  Register.  So  far  as  I could  verify 
them,  there  were  461  Baptisms  since  the  founding.  Al- 
though, in  the  preceding  report,  I have  said  there  were  470 
Baptisms,3  I was  unable,  despite  investigation,  to  discover 
more.  I presume  that  in  the  course  of  the  year  they  have 
died,  though  I can  not  assert  this  for  want  of  original 
records. 

“During  my  time,  twenty-three  Indians  died.  How  many 
passed  away  before  my  time,  I do  not  know,  since  the  original 
records  are  wanting. — Fr.  Vicente  Fuster.”  4 

The  next  Annual  Report  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Fr. 
Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen  and  countersigned  by  Fr.  Juan 
Figuer,  on  December  31,  1777.  It  is  very  long  and  explicit. 
Omitting  what  will  appear  in  the  tabular  reports  from  year 
to  year,  we  shall  briefly  note  only  the  most  important  facts 
and  changes.  These  will  suffice  to  show  how  scrupulously 
exact  the  Fathers  were  in  everything  that  pertained  to  their 
charge. 

During  the  year,  eighty-five  Indian  adults  (including  all 
over  nine  years  of  age)  and  thirty-one  Indian  children  re- 
ceived Baptism.  Sixteen  other  persons  (eight  adults  and 


s See  note  1. 

4 Vicente  Fuster,  Informe  Annul,  March  20,  1777;  Santa  Barbara 
Archives. 


Mission  San  Diego 


93 


eight  children)  were  discovered  who  had  been  overlooked 
in  compiling  the  new  register.  These  with  the  459  already 
entered  brought  the  number  of  those  baptized  since  1770  up 
to  591. 

The  Padron  or  Roll,  says  the  Report,  brings  the  names  of 
413  adults  and  138  children  who,  at  alternate  periods,  attend 
instructions  and  divine  services.  In  addition,  there  are  two 
adult  catechumens  and  one  child.  This  indicates  that  forty 
are  missing  who  may  have  feared  to  return,  as  some  Indians 
were  still  imprisoned  at  the  presidio. 

Since  November,  there  was  great  mortality  among  the 
sheep.  Nevertheless,  the  mission  owns  244  sheep  and  156 
goats,  besides  138  head  of  cattle. 

During  the  year,  all  the  buildings  were  repaired  and  a 
new  church  of  adobe  with  thatched  roof  was  erected.  It 
measured  five  by  twenty  varas,  that  is  to  say,  eighty  feet  in 
length  and  fourteen  feet  in  width,  inside  measurement  prob- 
ably. It  had  one  door  with  lock  and  two  small  windows. 
Then,  a corridor  was  built  along  the  front  of  the  Fathers’ 
habitation  and  the  store  room ; also  a shelter  of  adobe  with 
thatched  roof  was  erected  for  the  lambs  and  kids. 

“In  the  Valley  of  San  Luis,”  Fr.  Lasuen  reports,  “willow, 
poplar,  and  alder  timber  has  been  cut  for  a new  church 
edifice,  which  is  to  be  more  spacious  and  better  built  than 
the  present  structure.  Provided  the  harvest  corresponds  to 
what  was  planted,  the  building  of  the  church  will  begin  in 
the  coming  year  (1778).”* 

Church  and  sacristy  were  enriched  with  various  articles. 
New  silver  oil  stocks  in  a suitable  case  and  a Roman  ritual 
came  with  the  memorias  from  Mexico,  while  the  Fr.  Presi- 
dente  sent  a new  silver  ciborium.  From  Mission  San  Carlos 
came  a red  chasuble  in  fair  condition,  another  chasuble 
very  much  used,  and  an  old  black  chasuble,  a missal,  and  a 
set  of  silver  cruets. 

From  Mexico,  the  following  additions  to  the  library  were 
welcomed : Flos  Sanctorum,  three  volumes,  by  Ribandeneyra  ; 
Itinerario  de  Parrochos,  in  folio,  by  Montenegro;  Manogita 
de  Tellado.  Mission  San  Carlos  donated  a Biblia  Sacra, 


94  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Mistica  Ciudad  dc  Dios,  four  volumes,  together  with  its  Pro- 
logo Galeato  and  Notes;  a Life  of  Ven.  Mother  de  Agreda, 
one  volume;  Speculum  Parrochorum  by  Abreu ; Moral  The- 
ology, two  volumes,  by  Tamburino ; Doctrinas  Practicas  de 
Calataiud,  three  volumes,  by  Montenegro ; and  Florilegio 
Medicinal. 

House  and  kitchen  of  the  Fathers  received  four  pine 
chests  with  locks;  one  inkstand  and  one  saltcellar  of  metal; 
a bottle  case,  containing  eighteen  bottles,  six  knives,  a 
comb,  scissors,  and  mirror;  four  copper  pots,  eight  copper 
pans,  assorted ; two  table  cloths,  six  napkins,  six  copper 
covers  or  lids ; and  eighteen  pewter  plates. 

“In  the  granary,”  Fr.  Lasuen  writes,  “are  two  fanegas  of 
corn,  which  is  part  of  our  rations  from  the  government,  and 
about  two  fanegas  of  beans.  To  these  must  be  added  forty- 
four  fanegas  of  corn  and  seven  fanegas  of  wheat,  which  were 
lately  donated  by  Mission  San  Gabriel.  With  the  fourteen 
fanegas  of  corn,  which  we  found  here  in  July,  the  five 
fanegas  received  in  exchange  for  a bull,  and  our  own  weekly 
rations  which  the  king  grants  from  the  warehouse  at  the 
presidio,  together  with  the  eight  fanegas  of  beans,  which 
were  given  us  for  celebrating  a holy  Mass,  we  have  main- 
tained the  five  Lower  California  neophytes,  the  shepherds, 
the  interpreters,  the  sick,  the  little  boys  of  the  mission 
rancheria,  and  a few  orphans,  in  all,  thirty  persons,  besides 
a few  little  girls  and  laborers.  . At  present,  with  the  help 
that  came  from  San  Gabriel,  the  whole  population  of  the 
rancheria  is  fed. 

“For  the  field  and  shops,  the  memorias  from  Mexico 
brought  twenty-four  pack  saddles,  twenty-four  leather  bags, 
twelve  pickaxes,  six  steel  axes,  and  four  machetes  or  chop- 
ping knives.  From  Mission  San  Carlos  twelve  additional 
pickaxes,  twelve  hoes,  and  four  machetes  were  supplied. 

“Nothing  whatever  was  harvested  during  the  year;  but 
now  there  have  been  sown  about  twelve  fanegas  of  wheat 
and  seven  pecks  of  barley;  -besides,  more  land  has  been 
cleared  for  sowing  another  fanega  of  wheat. 

“From  the  presidio  store  there  is  still  due  to  the  mission 


Mission  San  Diego 


95 


the  property  bequeathed  to  it  by  the  deceased  Ursulino,  and 
various  checks.  What  a few  individuals  owe  this  mission, 
for  articles  received  and  for  holy  Mass  celebrated  for  them, 
amounts  to  about  190  (whether  pesos  or  reales,  the  report 
does  not  specify ; a real  is  equivalent  to  twelve  and  one- 
half  cents).  The  storekeeper,  Don  Raphael  de  Pedro  y Gil, 
as  subsyndic,  has  in  his  keeping  211  en  reales  de  Misa,  which 
have  been  entrusted  to  him ; but  the  holy  Masses  have  al- 
ready been  celebrated. 

“On  the  other  hand,  this  mission  is  under  obligation  to 
Mission  San  Carlos  for  what  has  already  been  mentioned 
under  various  heads.  Mission  San  Luis  Obispo  has  donated 
nine  almudes  of  garbanzos.  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano 
furnished  some  altar  cards.  Mission  San  Gabriel  donated 
twenty-four  fanegas  of  wheat,  twelve  for  planting  and 
twelve  for  our  own  consumption,  also  forty-four  fanegas  of 
corn  for  the  Indians,  three  fanegas  of  beans  and  a large 
quantity  of  onions,  garlic,  tomatoes,  and  chile  for  ourselves, 
one-fifth  fanega  of  barley  for  sowing,  and  sixteen  dozens 
of  rosary  beads  for  the  Indians. 

“In  return,  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  furnished  Mission 
San  Gabriel  with  forty-one  pounds  of  iron  and  twenty-three 
pounds  of  steel  with  the  necessary  carbon  and  one  laborer  to 
work  it  into  whatever  should  be  wanted.  To  Mission  San 
Juan  Capistrano  the  mission  sent  ten  head  of  sheep  and 
eleven  goats,  besides  twenty  pounds  of  iron  and  sixteen 
pounds  of  steel  with  sufficient  carbon.  A laborer  went  along 
to  do  the  work  that  should  be  required. 

“The  Memorias  which  this  year  came  by  ship  from  Mexico 
amounted  to  83,715  reales.  Of  this,  340  were  used  for  the 
Fathers  as  also  for  medicine,  altar  wine,  and  wax  candles. 
The  rest  was  applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  and  the 
mission.  The  freight  charges  amounted  to  11,911  reales 
which  together  with  the  cost  of  the  goods  total  95,616 
reales. 

“To  the  syndic  in  Mexico  the  mission  will  be  in  debt  to 
the  amount  of  383  pesos.  Although  we  have  heard  that 
this  will  be  canceled  by  our  syndic  or  paid  by  benefactors, 


96  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


we  have  not  seen  any  document  to  that  effect. — Mission  San 
Diego,  December  31,  1777, — Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen. 
— Fr.  Juan  Figuer.” 

Unfortunately,  the  reports  for  the  years  1778  and  1779 
are  missing ; otherwise  we  should  doubtless  know  more 
about  the  restlessness  of  the  savages  living  between  San 
Diego  and  San  Juan  Capistrano.  Bancroft’s  version  is  as 
follows : 

“In  March,  1778,  it  was  reported  that  the  people  of  Pamo, 
one  of  the  San  Diego  rancherias,  were  making  arrows  to  be 
used  against  the  Spaniards,  counting  on  the  aid  of  three 
neighboring  bands  and  of  one  across  the  sierra,  and  having 
already  murdered  a San  Juan  Indian.  Ortega,  comandante 
of  San  Diego,  sent  a message  of  warning  and  Chief  Aaran 
sent  back  a challenge  to  the  soldiers  to  come  and  be  slain. 
Sergeant  Guillermo  Carrillo’s  services  were  again  called  into 
requisition  and  he  was  sent  with  eight  soldiers  to  chastise 
this  insolence,  capture  the  chiefs,  and  to  give  thirty  or 
forty  lashes  to  such  warriors  as  might  seem  to  need  them. 
In  carrying  out  his  orders  the  sergeant  surprised  the  foe 
at  Pamo,  killed  two  of  the  number,  and  burned  a few  who 
refused  to  come  out  of  the  hut  in  which  they  had  taken 
refuge.  The  rest  surrendered  and  took  their  flogging,  while 
the  four  chieftains  were  bound  and  carried  to  San  Diego. 
Captured  in  this  battle  were  eighty  bows,  fifteen  hundred 
arrows,  and  a large  number  of  clubs.  The  four  chiefs, 
Aachil,  Aalcuirin,  Aaran,  and  Taguagui,  were  tried  on 
April  6,  convicted  of  having  plotted  to  kill  Christians,  in 
spite  of  the  mercy  shown  them  in  the  king’s  name  for  past 
offences,  and  condemned  to  death  by  Ortega,  though  that 
officer  had  no  right  to  inflict  the  death  penalty,  even  on 
an  Indian,  without  the  governor’s  approval.  The  sentence 
was : ‘Deeming  it  useful  to  the  service  of  God,  the  king,  and 
the  public  weal,  I sentence  them  to  a violent  death  by  two 
musket  shots  on  the  11th  at  9 A.M.,  the  troops  to  be  present 
at  the  execution  under  arms,  also  all  the  Christian  rancherias 
subject  to  the  San  Diego  Mission,  that  they  may  be  warned 
to  act  righteously.’  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Figuer  were  sum- 


Mission  San  Diego 


97 


moned  to  prepare  the  condemned  for  their  end.  ‘You  will 
cooperate’,  writes  Ortega  to  the  Padres,  ‘for  the  good  of 
their  souls  in  the  understanding  that  if  they  do  not  accept 
the  salutary  waters  of  holy  baptism  they  die  on  Saturday 
morning;  and  if  they  do — they  die  all  the  same!’  This  was 
the  first  public  execution  in  California.”5 6 

Probably,  the  execution  was  postponed,  as  the  Fathers  may 
have  persuaded  Ortega  that  a few  days  was  not  sufficient 
time  to  prepare  savages  for  Baptism  and  for  death,  and  that 
in  consequence  the  culprits  ought  to  be  reprieved.  Ortega 
may  have  remembered,  too,  that  the  governor’s  approval 
was  necessary,  A month’s  time,  at  least,  was  required  to 
procure  it.  In  that  case,  we  can  understand  a letter  dated 
by  Fr.  Serra  at  San  Carlos,  April  22,  and  directed  to  Fr. 
Lasuen.  It  reads  as  follows : 

Dearest  Father  in  Christ.  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  your  let- 
ters and  before  speaking  to  the  governor,  I reply  briefly  to  the  first 
(because  the  mail  must  leave  here  very  soon),  that  I feel  great  com- 
passion for  the  poor  condemned  culprits,  although  I doubt  very  much 
that  the  sentence  will  be  executed.  But,  should  it  have  to  be  in- 
flicted, it  seems  to  me  that  Your  Reverence  on  the  evening  before 
might  solemnly  administer  Baptism  to  them  in  prison,  so  that  there 
lack  nothing  of  whatever  our  most  solicitous  Mother,  the  Church,  has 
provided,  and  that  the  remaining  time  till  the  execution  be  employed 
in  having  them  make  acts  of  Faith,  etc.,  and  pious  ejaculations,  and 
in  exhorting  them  to  bear  their  lot  patiently,  besides  making  other 
preparations  for  a happy  death.  That  will  be  somewhat  wearisome, 
no  doubt,  but  very  godly  and  meritorious.  Above  all,  a crucifix  and 
blessed  rosaries  should  be  given  them.  If  for  the  accipe  vestem  can- 
didam; 6 the  sponsor  of  each  one,  or  some  other  benefactor,  would  pro- 
vide them  with  a tunic  of  white  cotton  cloth  ( una  tunica  salar  de 
manta),  so  that  they  might  die  and  be  buried  therein,  it  would  be  in 
my  opinion  an  act  very  acceptable  to  God.  If  I have  an  opportunity 
I shall  supplicate  the  governor  that  it  be  done  at  the  cost  of  the  king, 
our  Lord.  On  this  occasion,  I again  shall  urge  that  the  guards  of 
your  mission  be  reinforced.  If  my  words  prove  ineffective,  I have  at 
least  done  what  was  in  my  power.  It  is  not  a little  consoling  to 


5 Bancroft,  California,  vol.  i,  pp.  315-316. 

6 1 1 receive  the  white  garment,’  ’ — words  addressed  by  the  priest  to 
one  just  baptized. 


98  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


know  that  if  Your  Reverences  have  to  die  at  the  hands  of  those  sav- 
ages, it  will  be  because  you  are  Christians.  I should  accept  such  a 
death  with  a cheerful  heart,  with  grace,  and  as  a favor  from  God. 
Still,  because  we  need  you  alive  and  robust,  it  is  but  right  to  see  that 
you  are  well  protected  and  in  a condition  to  increase  the  number  of 
Christians,  much  as  this  may  displease  those  of  Pamo.7 

Two  months  later,  on  June  10,  Fr.  Serra  takes  occasion 
to  say  in  a letter  to  Fr.  Lasuen,  “I  am  very  glad  the  gover- 
nor has  exercised  mercy  toward  the  four  who  had  been 
condemned  to  death ; but  much  more  am  I glad  on  account  of 
the  mercy  which  God  our  Lord  has  shown  the  one  who  died 
a Christian,  and  on  the  others  who  are  in  the  same  disposi- 
tion of  mind.  May  His  Divine  Majesty  grant  them  perse- 
verance unto  the  end.”  Still  later,  on  September  28,  1779, 
Fr.  Serra  writes  to  Fr.  Lausen:  “It  has  pleased  me  very 

much  that  those  once  sentenced  to  death,  not  only  continue 
to  manifest  a better  spirit,  but  have  even  turned  apostles  by 
converting  others  to  the  bosom  of  our  holy  Mother  Church. 
Thus  I may  be  able  to  arrange  for  the  poor  fellow  who  is 
here  by  sending  him  to  his  native  climate  in  the  hope  that 
he  may  imitate  his  companions.” 7  8 It  would  seem  that  the 
sentence  of  death  was  commuted.  At  any  rate,  there  are  no 
particulars  as  to  an  execution. 

The  year  1778  gave  cause  for  anxiety  on  account  of  the 
scanty  crops.  In  the  letter  of  April  22,  already  quoted, 
Fr.  Serra  replies  to  Fr.  Lasuen’s  report  in  these  terms: 
“The  news  that  the  wheat  and  other  grain  is  falling  behind 
s for  want  of  rain,  grieved  me  very  much.  Tomorrow,  with 
the  help  of  God,  will  begin  my  especial  supplications.”  Later, 
on  June  10,  he  writes,  “It  has  consoled  me  very  much  to  learn 
that  in  their  charity  the  Fathers  at  San  Gabriel  have  re- 
mitted to  your  mission  all  it  owed  them.  I shall  thank  them 
at  once.” 


7 Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 

8 Indian  criminals,  not  sentenced  to  death,  were  usually  put  to  hard 
labor  at  some  presidio  away  from  the  scene  of  their  crime.  Thus  one 
happened  to  be  at  Monterey  from  San  Diego. 


Mission  San  Diego 


99 


However,  Fr.  Serra  desired  to  visit  the  sorely  tried  mis- 
sionaries in  person.  An  opportunity  came  during  the  sum- 
mer. The  San  Carlos  had  arrived  at  Monterey  with  letters 
from  the  College,  informing  the  Fr.  Presidente  that,  at  the 
request  of  the  College,  the  Holy  See  had  empowered  him 
to  administer  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  After  exercis- 
ing this  faculty  for  the  first  time  at  San  Carlos,  Fr.  Serra 
desired  to  begin  the  Confirmation  tour  at  San  Diego.  Here 
he  arrived  on  board  the  San  Carlos,  on  September  15,  to  the 
great  delight  of  the  Fathers  in  charge.  On  September  21, 
the  feast  of  St.  Matthew,  “after  singing  the  High  Mass  and 
preaching  a doctrinal  sermon  to  the  people,”  as  he  himself 
writes,  Fr.  Serra,  assisted  by  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Figuer, 
confirmed  seventy-four  persons  at  the  mission.  On  ten  ad- 
ditional days,  between  September  25  and  October  18,  he 
confirmed  536  persons.  In  all,  therefore,  610  Indians,  includ- 
ing the  few  whites  of  the  presidio,  received  the  Sacrament  of 
Confirmation.  This  number  embraced  nearly  all  that  had 
been  entered  into  the  Baptism  Register,  which  at  the  end  of 
1778  showed  679  names,  minus  the  dead.  The  name  of  every 
one  with  that  of  the  sponsor  was  entered  in  the  Register  of 
Confirmations,  the  title  page  of  which  Fr.  Serra  himself 
wrote  on  October  10,  to  correspond  with  the  title  page  of 
the  other  Registers.  The  two  assisting  Fathers  certified 
to  the  Confirmations  by  signing  their  names  to  the  list  of 
each  day.9 

The  harvests  of  1778  and  of  1779  appear  to  have  yielded 
very  little  grain.  At  all  events,  in  a letter,  dated  August  16, 
1779,  Fr.  Serra  writes  to  Fr.  Lasuen:  “By  ship  I am  for- 

warding to  Your  Reverence  two  fanegas  of  small  corn  for 
planting.  It  is  of  our  last  year’s  crop ; but  it  has  not  been 
shelled.  In  that  state  you  can  safely  plant  it  when  the  time 
comes,  but  only  three  grains  to  a hole,  because  you  have 
to  use  it  sparingly.  I send  also  three  fanegas  of  lentils. 


« Register  of  Confirmation. 


ioo  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

One  is  for  your  mission,  the  others  are  for  Mission  San  Juan 
and  Mission  San  Gabriel,  respectively.”  10 

How  these  men  of  superior  learning  and  unworldly  aims 
must  often  have  sighed  to  be  freed  from  the  necessity  of 
having  to  plan  and  figure  about  soil,  irrigation,  sowing  grain 
and  harvesting  it,  raising  vegetables  and  fruits,  about  cattle, 
sheep,  horses,  mules,  about  feeding  and  clothing  the  con- 
verts, they  who  had  been  trained  to  contemplate  the  super- 
natural and  instructed  as  to  how  to  apply  to  themselves  and 
to  communicate  to  others  the  lofty  truths  of  the  Gospel ! 
Indeed,  all  those  bodily  and  worldly  cares  must  have  been 
as  loathsome  to  the  grey-robed  friars  as  manual  labor  was  to 
the  savages  in  their  charge.  However,  both  submitted  to 
the  inevitable  in  order  to  accomplish  what  both  had  in  view, 
the  Fathers  clearly  and  therefore  ardently,  the  converts 
dimly  and  therefore  less  ardently — the  salvation  of  their 
immortal  souls.  At  any  rate,  nothing  else  could  have  in- 
duced the  missionaries  to  engage  in  such  drudgery,  nor  could 
the  Indians  on  any  other  plea  have  been  persuaded  to  yield 
their  liberty,  to  quit  their  wild  life  forever  and  to  accept 
the  restraints  of  Christianity  and  civilization. 


10  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Discouraging  Situation. — Fr.  Guardian’s  Consoling  Letter. — Fr.  Serra 
to  Fr.  Lasuen. — Fr.  Lasuen ’s  Lament. — Neve’s  Stupid  Demand. — 
Its  Disastrous  Result. — Fr.  Lasuen ’s  Instructions  on  the  Subject. — 
FF.  Lasuen  and  Figuer  Report  on  the  Mission. — New  Church. — 
Cemetery. — Church  Goods. — Report  of  1783. — Building  Activities. 
Agriculture. — Financial  Contributions. — Fr.  Serra ’s  Newsy  Letter. — 
Fr.  Lasuen  to  Fr.  Serra  on  Condition  of  the  Mission. — Lt.  Ortega 
Transferred  to  Santa  Barbara. — San  Diego  Presidio. — Fr.  Serra ’s 
Last  Visit. — He  Administers  Confirmation. — He  Bids  Farewell. — 
Gov.  Fages’s  Report. — Erroneous  Statement. 

ONDITIONS  at  Mission  San  Diego  during  the  years 


1778  and  1779  and  the  prospects  for  the  future  appeared 
so  gloomy  to  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Figuer  that  both  applied 
for  permission  to  retire  to  their  College  in  Mexico.  Several 
causes  contributed  to  their  discouragement.  Provisions  were 
not  sufficient  for  the  growing  convert  population ; then  the 
turbulence  of  the  savage  Indians  made  the  Fathers  fear  for 
their  wards  and  their  mission ; and  finally,  what  was  worst 
of  all,  Governor  Neve’s  animosity  and  continual  interference 
in  mission  affairs  distressed  them.  Fr.  Figuer’s  repeated 
complaints  and  petitions  at  last  drew  from  Fr.  Serra  a 
beautiful  letter,1  on  the  receipt  of  which  Fr.  Figuer  no 
longer  had  the  heart  to  insist  on  retiring.  He  bravely 
remained  on  his  post  until  *death  relieved  him. 

Fr.  Lasuen,  on  the  other  hand,  had  applied  directly  to  the 
College.  But,  like  his  fellow  missionary,  he  abandoned  every 
desire  to  return  to  Mexico,  when  he  received  the  following 
fatherly  reply  from  the  Fr.  Guardian: 

In  my  soul  I feel  the  affliction  and  hardships  of  Your  Reverence, 
Fr.  Rafael  Verger  wrote  under  date  of  January  14,  1780;  but,  my 
friend,  it  must  be  a consolation  after  all  to  know  that  you  are  toiling 
for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  and  for  the  welfare  of  souls,  expecting  the 
while  from  His  Divine  Majesty  that  help  and  that  reward  for  your 


i For  this  letter  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  385-389. 


102  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


labors  which  creatures  deny  us.  Even  though  what  we  desire  does  not 
come  to  pass,  God  Himself  will  provide,  that  same  Lord  who  in  His 
inscrutable  judgments  permits  the  enemy  to  impede  the  realization  of 
the  good  wishes  with  which  He  inspires  us.  Great  undertakings  have 
ever  encountered  great  obstacles.  What  we  have  in  those  missions  is 
of  ample  magnitude,  and,  therefore,  there  is  no  reason  to  be  dis- 
heartened. Let  us  do  what  we  can,  my  friend,  and  leave  the  rest  to 
God.  Your  Reverence  is  very  necessary  in  the  service;  even  though 
your  modesty  will  smile,  I needs  must  tell  you.  Your  Reverence  has 
more  experience,  more  deliberation  in  thought,  etc.,  and  so  you  will 
sacrifice  yourself  to  the  Lord.  Here  we  do  and  shall  do  what  we  can, 
as  well  for  the  consolation  of  Your  Reverence  as  for  the  advancement 
of  those  missions.  . . . The  four  volumes  Leyes  de  Indias  leave  here 
for  you.  The  cost  is  nineteen  dollars.  The  Curia  Filipica  has  not  yet 
been  found,  but  it  has  been  promised.  I do  not  know  what  the  price 
is;  but  Your  Reverence  need  not  worry  about  the  price.  I shall  pay 
the  whole  amount  for  your  mission.  I will  not  burden  you  with  Mass 
intentions,  because  keeping  account  of  the  Masses  and  their  application 
at  such  a distance  and  when  there  is  mail  only  once  a year,  does  not 
appeal  to  me.  Besides  the  cost  of  mailing  would  be  six  dollars.2 

Fr.  Lasuen  had  written  on  August  27,  1779,  at  a time 
when  things  looked  desperate.  Had  he  waited  a month 

longer,  he  might  not  have  addressed  himself  to  Fr.  Verger, 
at  all.  For  Fr.  Serra’s  letter,  dated  September  28,  1779, 
written  in  his  usual  happy  strain,  contrived  to  bring  sun- 
shine into  the  gloom. 

• 

With  the  greatest  delight,  he  wrote,  I have  received  the  news  from 
Your  Reverence.  Especially  pleased  am  I with  what  you  say  about 
the  happy  delivery  of  Anna,  sterile  so  many  years; 2  3 4 I mean  your  fine 
mission  with  its  many  encouraging  ancl  copious  fruits  and  blessings. 
Even  more  delighted  am  I with  the  fair  prospects  Your  Reverence  out- 
lines to  me,  as  also  with  your  perseverance  on  observing  that  land 
was  found  suitable  for  wheat  and  other  grain.  Thanks  be  to  God, 
already  we  are  beginning  to  see,  and  within  me  I hear  a voice  saying 
with  reference  to  it,  majora  videbis A Therefore,  in  our  labors  let  us 
confide  in  God,  who  is  a father ; He  knows  what  we  need  and  that 
should  suffice.  Your  Reverence,  behold  the  little  field  of  our  Father 


2 Sta.  Barb.  Arch.,  ad  annum. 

3 The  allusion  is  to  I Kings,  cap.  i. — For  a long  time,  Mission  San 
Diego  had  produced  no  converts. 

4 “You  will  see  greater  things.”  The  allusion  is  to  John  i,  50. 


Mission  San  Diego  103 

St.  Francis.  Nothing  better  could  be  offered  to  the  Saints,  who  are 
now  resting  happily.5 

Another  cause  for  dejection  was  the  meager  fruit  derived 
from  their  arduous  missionary  labors.  This  was  due,  Fr. 
Lasuen  lamented,  to  the  methods  which  had  to  be  adopted  at 
this  particular  mission  of  San  Diego.  Describing  the  situa- 
tion twenty-three  years  later,  he  writes : 

At  that  mission  (San  Diego)  they  keep  just  enough  Indians  to  jus- 
tify the  place  being  called  a mission  and  to  make  it  a refuge  to 
which  those  who  stay  at  their  rancherlas  can  have  recourse  in  their 
needs.  What  good  has  been  achieved  and  what  progress  made?  O 
my  venerable  Fr.  Guardian ! What  anxiety ! What  despondency ! 
What  sleepless  nights!  What  anguish!  What  daily  and  nightly  toil- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  missionaries!  What  licentiousness!  What  a 
change  in  the  neophytes  from  Christian  civility  to  heathen  barbar- 
ity! . . . There  is  no  doubt  that  in  all  the  pagan  rancherias  heathen 
practices  prevail.  Who  will  remove  the  obstacles  which  the  Christians 
encounter  when  they  continue  to  live  with  their  tribesmen  at  the  very 
scenes  of  those  heathen  customs?  And  who  will  prevent  them  from 
joining  their  tribesmen  or  even  from  witnessing  the  orgies?  Accus- 
tomed to  their  abominable  feasts,  and  finding  their  recollections  re- 
vived every  hour,  what  place  will  they  give  to  the  catechism  and  to 
the  obligations  contracted  in  the  Baptism  they  have  received?  They 
possess  no  energy  to  apply  themselves  to  what  is  conducive  to  a ra- 
tional, social,  and  civilized  life.  On  the  vigilance  and  incessant  care 
of  the  missionaries  it  then  depends  whether  or  not  the  Indians  observe 
what  they  have  learned. 

Let  it  be  sincerely  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  if  at  San  Diego, 
as  in  Lower  California,  that  method  is  employed,  it  is  through  dire 
necessity;  for  those  sterile  lands  by  no  means  produce  the  provisions 
necessary  to  support  all  the.  neophytes  together.  This  impossibility 
compels  the  missionaries  to  permit  the  Christians  to  live  scattered  in 
their  rancherias,  obliged  to  visit  the  mission  only  from  time  to  time. 
To  let  them  live  in  this  way  is  thought  to  be  a smaller  evil  than  to 
let  them  remain  pagans.  It  is  a necessary  evil,  but  the  result  is 
disastrous.6 

A most  serious  cause  for  dissatisfaction  was  the  demand  of 
Governor  Neve  that  the  Indians  of  all  the  missions  should 
annually  elect  an  alcalde  and  two  regidores,  a sort  of  magis- 
trate and  councillors,  &nd  thus  become  accustomed  to  self- 


5 Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 

6 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  586-588. 


104  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

government.  These  officials  were  to  have  a certain  degree 
of  authority  and  to  be  exempt  from  corporal  punishment. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  at, San  Diego  the  first  Christian 
convert  had  emerged  from  the  most  degrading  barbarism 
only  eight  years  before,  and  that  most  of  them  had  become 
Christians  of  a certain  kind  only  within  the  last  four  years, 
one  can  not  but  be  amazed  at  Neve’s  demand.  As  a piece 
of  boys’  play  it  might  have  passed,  and  the  Fathers  would 
have  enjoyed  the  antics  of  their  childish  wards;  but  to 
insist  on  it  as  Neve  did  was  sheer  folly.  As  yet,  the 
neophytes  were  no  more  capable  of  governing  themselves, 
much  less  a whole  community,  than  would  be  a band  of 
overgrown,  unruly  schoolboys.  Nor  was  there  hope  that 
for  some  years  to  come  they  could  be  allowed  to  manage 
their  own  affairs  like  the  civilized  whites.  Indeed,  at  San 
Diego,  Neve’s  plan  would  plainly  have  resulted  in  disaster, 
because  the  Indians  lived  at  the  mission  only  two  weeks  of 
each  month.  The  premature  experiment  was  introduced 
in  a moderate  form ; but  nowhere  did  it  accrue  to  the  benefit 
of  the  neophytes.  Describing  the  consequences  at  the  va- 
rious missions,  Fr.  Serra  writes:  “Of  San  Diego  I say 
nothing.  There  is  much  about  which  they  (the  missionaries) 
lamented  with  reference  to  the  alcaldes ; but  it  is  fortunate 
that  the  presidio  is  close  by.  May  God  help  them.”  7 It  was 
the  disorders  brought  on  by  this  regulation  of  the  hostile 
Neve  which  especially  had  induced  Fr.  Lasuen  to  seek  per- 
mission to  retire  from  California.  When  later  he  himself 
became  Superior  of  the  missions,  he,  under  date  of  Novem- 
ber 2,  1796,  instructed  the  missionaries  to  this  effect:  “Let 
the  elections  be  held  at  a convenient  hour,  because  his  Honor 
so  directs,  but  only  in  as  far  as  it  is  possible  at  the  missions 
for  which  there  is  no  law  determining  it.  In  these  missions 
we  are  preparing  the  neophytes  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
laws ; as  to  their  being  governed  by  such  laws,  however,  that 
must  be  postponed  to  the  time  when  they  cease  to  be  missions 


7 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  336-344. 


MISSION  SAN  DIEGO  IN  1886 


1 06  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

and  have  been  declared  pueblos  or  doctrinas  by  the  king.8 
And  then  we  must  leave.  Meanwhile,  the  said  elections  may 
be  held  in  a preparatory  and  instructive  way,  but  by  no 
means  after  the  formality  of  the  law  quoted,  because  such 
law  does  not  apply  to  the  missions.”  9 Hence  at  San  Diego 
the  nominations  were  thereafter  given  to  those  who  had 
proved  themselves  capable  of  holding  the  respective  office, 
but  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  missionaries.  They 
were  instructed  as  to  their  duties  and  in  this  way  prepared 
for  the  time  when  the  mission  should  become  a pueblo  or 
parish. 

For  the  year  ending  December  31,  1780,  Fathers  Lasuen 
and  Figuer  sign  a lengthy  and  minute  report  to  the  Fr. 
Presidente.  Holy  Mass  and  Christian  instruction  was  at 
that  time  regularly  attended  by  521  adult  neophytes,  that 
is,  Indians  over  nine  years  of  age.  In  addition,  the  Padron 
showed  the  names  of  150  Indian  children  under  nine  years 
of  age.  Accordingly,  at  the  end  of  1780,  671  Indians  be- 
longed to  Mission  San  Diego.  Live  stock  had  increased  con- 
siderably, as  may  be  seen  from  the  Tabular  Reports. 

Considerable  building  was  done  during  the  year  1780. 
The  most  important  structure  to  rise  on  the  arid  hillside 
was  a more  spacious  and  substantial  church.  Inside,  it 
measured  thirty  varas  or  about  eighty-four  feet  in  length 
and  five  and  a half  varas  or  about  fifteen  feet  in  width  and 
in  height.  The  adobe  walls  were  three  feet  thick.  The 
beams  were  of  pine  and  the  rafters  of  poplar.  Poles  of 
alder  or  rough  boarding  covered  the  rafters,  and  over  all 
were  placed  tules.  To  insure  the  roof  against  another  fire, 
the  tules  were  covered  with  a mass  of  earth.  An  addition 


s i.  e.,  when  the  neophytes  had  been  judged  sufficiently  advanced  to 
manage  their  affairs  themselves  and  were  able  to  support  a secular 
priest. 

s Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  345-346.  The  Spanish  law 
requiring  such  officials  concerned  only  those  missions  that  in  the  sense 
of  the  preceding  note  had  been  secularized  and  had  thus  become  reg- 
ular parishes. 


Mission  San  Diego 


107 


of  eleven  feet,  inside  measurement,  having  the  same  width 
and  height  as  the  church  was  used  as  sacristy.  It  had  one 
window,  while  the  church  received  sufficient  light  through 
four  windows  which,  like  the  sacristy  window,  were  protected 
on  the  outside  by  a grating  of  cedar  wood.  Within,  each 
window  had  its  shutters  of  planed  boards.  The  doors  in 
front  of  the  church  and  on  the  side  toward  the  courtyard 
were  supplied  with  locks. 

Along  the  entire  length  of  the  church  and  sacristy,  on  the 
north  or  Gospel  side,  lay  the  cemetery,  which  was  ten  varas 
or  about  thirty  feet  wide.  The  corridor  that  extended  along 
the  church  and  sacristy  on  the  south  or  Epistle  side  in  the 
courtyard  was  two  and  a quarter  varas  or  about  seven  feet 
wide.  Instead  of  stone  pillars,  posts  of  oak  served  as  sup- 
ports of  the  roof. 

The  whole  work,  especially  the  interior  of  the  church, 
was  neatly  and  elegantly  done,  as  well  as  the  knowledge  of 
the  local  artisans  and  the  means  of  the  mission  allowed. 
“Thanks  be  to  God !”  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Figuer  conclude 
their  report  with  evident  satisfaction  and  relief. 

The  church  goods  were  augmented  by  the  acquisition  of 
four  linen  surplices  for  the  altar  boys,  a number  of  cor- 
porals, a rich  amice,  a black  stole  for  burials,  and  two  sets 
of  altar  cards.  “In  the  past  year,”  the  report  relates,  “we 
have  sent  to  Tepic  a classical  but  very  old  alb  of  the  finest 
workmanship.  It  had  undergone  sacrilegious  and  vile  hand- 
ling from  the  rebel  Indians  in  the  year  1775.  We  sent 
it  in  order  that  from  its  material  surplices  be  made  and 
that  its  lace  may  serve  to  hide  the  faulty  spots.  This  has 
been  done,  and  it  was  returned  to  our  complete  satisfaction. 
Thanks  be  to  God !” 

Various  new  kitchen  utensils  were  obtained  as  also  im- 
plements for  the  field  and  for  the  workshops.  The  library 
was  enriched  with  a copy  of  the  Roman  Martyrology  and 
with  a Mexican  dictionary.10 

Under  the  head  of  Granary  or  Storeroom  and  Distribu- 


i°  S.  B.  Archives. 


io8  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


tion  of  Provisions,  the  Report  for  1780  says:  “At  the  close 
of  1779,  the  granary  contained  240  fanegas  or  400  bushels 
of  wheat,  45  fanegas  or  76  bushels  of  corn,  and  7}4  fanegas 
or  12  bushels  of  beans.  Since  then  has  been  added  what 
the  harvest  yielded  and  what  was  donated  by  other  mis- 
sions, as  is  mentioned  in  its  place.  With  this  the  mission 
maintained  all  the  Indians  of  both  sexes  of  this  rancheria, 
comprising  147  adults  (not  including  the  old  men  who  regu- 
larly find  occupation  on  the  seashore  and  who  go  hunting 
when  nothing  is  to  be  had  there),  the  male  and  female  chil- 
dren who  can  eat,11  some  from  outside  rancherias  who  have 
their  turn  to  stay  here  for  a week  or  more,  according  to 
their  duties  or  their  pleasure,  the  adults  who  are  to  be 
baptized  during  the  period  of  their  instruction,  and  all  the 
sick  and  invalids  who  assemble  here.  All  these  were  fed 
on  176  fanegas  or  292  bushels  of  wheat,  43  fanegas  or 
85  bushels  of  barley,  not  including  what  has  been  planted 
of  both  kinds  of  grain,  91  fanegas  or  152  bushels  of  corn, 
and  about  10  fanegas  or  17  bushels  of  beans.12 

“Our  own  rations  which  were  allowed  us  by  the  Regla- 
mento  Provisional 13  have  been  suspended  by  the  governor 
(Neve)  these  last  two  years.  He  gave  no  other  reason 
beyond  the  assumption  that  he  had  reported  the  matter  to 
the  higher  authorities.  Last  month,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
arrival  here  at  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,  I assured  him 
that  I was  informed  by  letter  of  the  Rev.  Fr.  Guardian, 
that  His  Excellency^  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  (Mexico) 
wished  this  subsidy  to 'be  extended  to  us.  Nevertheless, 
the  governor  has  not  relieved  us  of  the  penance.14  There 
remain  at  present  about  200  fanegas  or  333  bushels  of  wheat, 
8 or  9 fanegas  or  about  12  bushels  of  small  corn,  46  fanegas 


11  “Los  parvulos  de  unos  y otros,  que  pueden  comer. ff 

12  This  does  not  include  all  that  was  dealt  out  to  them;  for  meat 
also  formed  a staple. 

13  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  124;  279-294. 

ii  For  Neve’s  contemptible  action  in  this  matter  see  Missions  and 
Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  121-125;  279-294. 


Mission  San  Diego 


109 


or  75  bushels  of  yellow  corn  from  San  Gabriel,  and  about 
2 fanegas  or  3 bushels  of  beans. 

“Land  was  cleared  for  the  sowing  of  six  more  fanegas 
of  wheat.  But  a few  days  ago  we  had  a heavy  rainfall 
which  filled  the  river  bed  and  the  lowlands  where  the  wheat 
and  barley  had  been  planted.  The  ditch  made  last  year 
was  not  deep  enough  to  carry  ofif  the  water.  Consequently, 
a large  part  of  the  sowing  has  been  destroyed.  The  In- 
dians are  now  working  hard  to  remedy  the  trouble  for  the 
present  and  to  prevent  similar  disasters  in  the  future.” 
The  Report  also  minutely  enumerates  what  had  been  sown 
and  harvested;  this  will  all  appear  in  the  Tabular  Report.15 

No  local  reports  were  drawn  up  for  the  years  1781  and 
1782..  But  in  the  following  year,  on  May  10,  Fr.  Lasuen 
furnished  Fr.  Serra,  at  his  request,  a very  lengthy  and 
complete  account  of  what  had  been  achieved  during  the 
two  preceding  years.  From  this  report  we  cull  the  follow- 
ing facts : 

A granary  had  been  built ; it  was  twenty-five  varas  or 
seventy-one  feet  long  and  five  and  a half  varas  or  about 
fifteen  feet  wide.  Besides,  the  following  structures  had  been 
erected ; 

a ravelin  or  high  entresol,  with  two  doors  through  which 
to  ascend  to  its  terrace ; 

a room  eight  varas  or  twenty-two  feet  long  to  be  used 
to  store  away  clothing  and  furniture ; 

a room  six  varas  or  seventeen  feet  long  to  be  used  as 
shelter  and  infirmary  for  the  women ; for  their  convenience 
and  accommodation,  it  had  its  own  courtyard  or  patio  five 
yards  in  length  and  width ; 

a structure  called  the  pozolera,  five  yards  square,  where 
the  pozole  or  gruel  was  cooked ; it  served  as  a meeting  place 
for  the  young  men  and  boys,  and  sometimes  one  or  the 
other  infirm  was  sheltered  here ; 

a small  corral  for  the  oven  and  firewood; 

two  rooms,  each  five  yards  and  more  in  length,  in  which 


is  Informe,  December  31,  1780.  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


no  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


the  missionaries  live ; it  had  a little  corridor  as  shelter 
against  the  weather.  The  height  of  these  various  buildings 
was  four  varas  or  about  eleven  feet,  except  the  ravelin  which 
was  five  and  a half  varas  or  about  fifteen  feet  high  and  a 
little  more  than  five  varas  or  fourteen  feet  wide.  Other 
structures  put  up  during  the  years  1781  and  1782  were 

a room  used  as  a refectory,  about  eleven  feet  long; 

a room  eight  varas  or  twenty-two  feet  long,  used  as  a 
common  pantry ; 

two  guest  rooms,  one  eleven  feet,  the  other  seventeen 
feet  in  length ; 

a harness  and  saddle  room,  fourteen  feet  long.  These 
rooms  had  the  same  width  as  the  others,  but  they  were 
hardly  three  varas  or  eight  feet  high.  All  were  of  adobe 
and  the  roof  was  covered  with  earth.  They  had  doors 
with  locks,  except  the  posolera,  where  the  gruel  was  pre- 
pared. A kitchen,  a hennery,  and  a toilet  were  likewise 
erected  at  this  time. 

All  these  structures  as  also  the  soldiers’  quarters  occupied 
the  three  wings  of  a quadrangle.  Each  wing  measured 
fifty-five  varas  or  about  155  feet  in  length.  The  fourth 
side  of  this  quadrangle  was  closed  by  a wall  of  adobe  three 
varas  or  about  eleven  feet  high,  which  at  one  end  terminated 
in  a ravelin  a little  more  than  a story  high,  by  means  of 
which  and  of  the  other  ravelin,  the  four  angles  could  easily 
be  defended. 

Outside  this  quadrangle  was  a tank,  which  had  been 
built  shortly  before  for  tanning  hides ; then  two  corrals  of 
adobe  large  enough  to  admit  the  sheep ; and  finally  another 
adobe  structure  for  the  six  or  eight  milch  cows  which  the 
mission  maintained.  Most  of  the  cattle  as  also  the  mares 
were  in  the  valley  of  San  Luis,  two  leagues  distant. 

“Down  to  late  years,”  Fr.  Lasuen  reports,  “building  at 
the  mission  was  done  with  some  diffidence  as  to  whether 
it  would  remain  at  this  place.  On  account  of  its  continual 
want  and  of  the  tragedy  already  related,  progress  and  pros- 


M ission  San  Diego 


1 1 1 


pects  did  not  correspond  with  the  incessant  labors  ex- 
pended. But  observing  that  Christianity  had  notably  in- 
creased, that  it  was  necessary  to  preserve  it,  and  that  no 
suitable  locality  had  been  found  where  the  converts  might 
be  collected,  the  missionaries  have  applied  what  human 
means  were  available  in  their  endeavor  to  make  it  perma- 
nent and  durable,  a very  difficult  undertaking,  inasmuch 
as  little  is  wanting  to  declare  that  end  unattainable  with- 
out the  aid  of  other  means.  Hence  indescribable  efforts 
have  been  made,  though  so  far  with  meager  success,  to 
plant  great  stretches  of  land,  to  clear  and  to  enclose  it, 
to  run  irrigation  ditches,  and  to  perform  the  other  fatiguing 
labor  necessarily  connected  with  such  an  undertaking.” 

Fr.  Lasuen  reports  also  that  at  his  writing  the  Mission 
Records  accounted  for  966  baptisms,  232  marriages,  and 
216  deaths.16 

How  scrupulously  the  missionaries  watched  over  these 
worldly  matters,  doubly  disagreeable  to  their  spiritual  train- 
ing and  aspirations,  may  be  seen  from  the  exactness  with 
which  the  Report  enumerates  the  amounts  due  to  the 
Mission.  First  are  mentioned  sixteen  fanegas  of  wheat 
furnished  to  the  troops,  likewise  two  bulls,  and  two  mules 
stolen  by  two  deserting  soldiers,  and  one  horse  and  one 
mule,  both  of  especial  value.  Then,  in  cash  there  are  due 
to  the  Mission  from  the  presidio  and  from  individuals  con- 
nected therewith  $1,303.37.  In  addition,  from  the  Monterey 
presidio  store  are  due  $184.88,  which  amount  was  be- 
queathed to  the  Mission  for  the  Indians  by  the  late  Jose 
Urselino,  and  also  $866,  which,  apparently  his  salary,  Ale  jo 
Antonio  Gonzales,  who  died  March  19,  1780,  had  likewise 
willed  to  the  Mission.17 

“The  goods  ( Memorias ) sent  from  Mexico  were  valued 


16  Fr.  Lasuen  to  Fr.  Serra,  May  10,  1783.  Bancroft  Collection. 

17  Urselino  had  been  mortally  wounded  at  the  affray  of  November 
5,  1775.  After  five  years,  the  money  was  still  due  to  the  Mission! 
Gonzales  was  one  of  the  four  soldiers  in  the  same  battle. 


1 12  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


at  $521  and  5 reales  (663/2  cents).  Of  this  sum,  $235  is 
for  articles  ordered  for  the  personal  use  of  the  Fathers, 
which  include  medicine,  altar  wine,  and  wax  for  the  altar 
candles.  The  rest,  consisting  of  dress  goods  and  other 
articles,  was  distributed  to  the  Indians.  The  freight  charges 
amounted  to  $69,  which  together  with  the  cost  of  the  goods 
totals  $590.05.  Besides  this,  the  Mission  is  charged  $211.06, 
due  for  goods  sent  last  year,  and  $53.05  for  things  sent 
from  Tepic.  The  entire  debt,  therefore,  is  $856.  To  liqui- 
date this  we  assigned  our  annual  allowance  of  $800 18  and 
the  $9  on  hand  for  alms.  This  leaves  a debt  on  the  Mission 
of  $47,  to  be  paid  in  Mexico. 

“Mission  San  Diego  has  been  aided  by  other  establish- 
ments as  follows:  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano  donated 
seven  almudes  of  beans  and  six  almudes  of  peas.  Mission 
San  Gabriel  sent  eighty-two  fanegas  of  corn,  three  fanegas 
and  four  almudes  of  beans,  and  a crate  of  melocotones. 
When  occasion  offered,  both  missions  have  sent  us  onions, 
ajos,  chile,  tomatoes,  watermelons,  and  sugar  melons.  Mis- 
sion San  Antonio  sent  us  two  fanegas  of  corn  ( chico  del 
Rio  Colorado ) for  planting.  Mission  San  Carlos  forwarded 
by  ship  twenty  fanegas  of  barley.  The  Rev.  Fr.  Presidente 
and  the  other  Fathers  assisted  us  by  celebrating  two  hun- 
dred holy  Masses  and  allowing  us  the  stipends. 

“On  the  other  hand,  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  gave 
to  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano  four  half-tamed  colts,  two 
sacks  filled  with  wool,  dos  tascones,  y an  guijo  grande  de 
derro  con  su  pi  at  ill  0 ; and  it  has  supplied  two  arrobas  of 
iron  with  the  necessary  carbon  to  reduce  the  points  of  the 
plow.  It  has  loaned  also  expert  Indians  to  assist  the  black- 
smith at  this  work  and  at  other  little  jobs.  To  Mission 
San  Gabriel  this  mission  gave  two  loads  of  salt,  and  an 
tercio  of  brown  sugar;  also  twenty  pounds  of  iron  with 
the  necessary  carbon  to  work  it  into  plow-points,  and  two 
trained  Indians  for  the  service  of  the  blacksmith  during 
the  time  of  this  wrork.” 


is  Each  missionary  was  allowed  $400. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 13 

The  Fathers  conclude  their  long  but  highly  important 
Informe  with  this  Nota:  “This  year  we  have  seen  that  it 
is  necessary  to  take  the  cattle  away  from  the  Mission  in 
order  to  raise  grain  and  fruit  there.  Hence  the  cattle  had 
to  be  removed  to  the  Valley  of  San  Luis,  where  the  horses 
were  kept.  In  the  same  place  (it  has  been  reported),  a 
soldier  of  the  presidio,  without  herdsmen  and  without  corral, 
against  the  rights  of  the  Indians  and  consequently  against 
the  will  of  the  missionaries,  keeps  a herd  of  mares.  If 
that  is  right,  then  anyone  else  may  do  the  same,  and  in 
the  end  they  will  rob  the  Mission  of  the  only  locality  that 
could  serve  as  a rancho.  But,  if  it  is  not  right,  then  we 
supplicate  that  orders  be  given  for  the  removal  of  the 
horses.” 

A delightful  letter  addressed  by  Fr.  Serra  to  Fr.  Lasuen 
on  December  8,  1781,  contains  some  items  of  interest  about 
San  Diego  which  are  not  found  elsewhere. 

My  dear  friend,  Fr.  Serra  writes,  blessed  be  the  Most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment and  the  Most  Pure  Conception  of  our  Mother  and  Lady,  Mary 
Most  Holy,10  on  whose  day,  or  rather  on  whose  night,  I take  up  the 
pen  which  may  run  I do  not  know  how  long;  Not  long  since  I re- 
ceived the  letter  of  Your  Reverence,  dated  August  14.  The  news  is 
all  good.  Thanks  be  to  God,  who,  I pray,  may  reward  Your  Reverence 
for  the  consolation  you  afforded  me  through  it. 

The  exercise  of  the  faculty  to  confirm  having  been  restored  here 
recently,20  I went  anew  to  administer  Confirmation  in  the  Missions  of 
San  Antonio,  San  Francisco,  and  Santa  Clara.  Since  then  I wore 
my  shoes,  on  account  of  an  adventure  I had  with  the  mule  while  re- 
turning to  this  Mission  of  San  Carlos;  but  they  say  that  all  my  ribs 
are  in  place,  and  to-day  the  pain  is  already  very  much  alleviated. 
Blessed  be  God  for  everything ! . . . 

I am  much  pleased  with  the  celebration  that  attended  the  dedica- 
tion of  your  holy  temple.  I congratulate  Your  Reverence.  Thus  far, 
San  Antonio  excelled,  especially  for  its  roof  of  tiles.  It  is  in  every 
way  a beautiful  church.  It  corresponds  altogether  with  that  of  your 
Mission,  if  the  latter,  according  to  your  description  and  what  Lieu- 


19  These  are  the  words  of  the  Alabado.  Fr.  Serra  had  never  before 
used  them  in  a letter. 

20  For  Neve’s  unworthy  tactics  in  this  matter  see  Missions  and  Mis- 
sionaries, vol.  ii,  pp.  302-318. 


1 14  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


tenant  Diego  Gonzales  reported,  does  not  surpass  it  in  neatness,  beauty, 
and  symmetry.  I did  not  need  the  lieutenant ’s  description  of  your 
holy  temple,  after  I had  seen  Your  Reverence’s  letter;  but  I adduce 
it  in  proof  that  I omit  no  occasion  to  speak  of  San  Diego.  Nor  did 
it  grieve  me  to  hear  the  said  gentleman  speak  so  well  of  the  Mission 
and  of  its  Fathers,  who  see  their  Mission  growing  large.  God  repay 
also  Fr.  Pablo  Mugartegui  for  the  lustre  he  added  to  the  joyful 
function.21 

It  is  also  very  pleasant  news,  and  like  an  aftermath  of  the  fore- 
going, that  seven  fanegas  of  barley  and  about  eight  hundred  fanegas 
of  wheat  have  been  harvested,  besides  the  great  heaps  of  beans  and 
other  pulse  products.  Here  occurs  to  me  the  passage  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, ‘ 1 Their  storehouse  full,  flowing  out  of  this  and  that  . . . Their 
oxen  fat  . . . after  the  similitude  of  a temple.  ’ ’ 22  Do  not  let  Fr. 
Pablo  Mugartegui  escape,  but  let  it  likewise  go  to  my  account.  I hope 
that  also  the  corn  prospered  and  that  the  grapevines  are  living  and 
thriving;  for  this  lack  of  altar  wine  is  already  becoming  unbearable. 
Soon  we  shall  be  without  chocolate  and  without — snuff,  which  is  pain- 
ful. It  cuts  to  the  quick  to  see  the  Indians  so  poorly  clad  without 
prospects  of  even  a breech-cloth  and  the  soldiers  so  run  down,  despite 
the  fact  that  his  Honor  (Neve)  knows  this  and  that  the  warehouse 
has  an  abundance  of  clothing.  But  worse  than  all  this  is  the  outlook 
that  we  shall  be  without  holy  Mass;  for  it  is  known  that  it  will  be 
long  before  a ship  arrives.  . . . 

I have  information  that  our  brother  Ortega  goes  to  the  Channel 
and  that  his  son  is  corporal.  ...  I should  like  to  know  the  des- 
tination of  our  beloved  Don  Raphael.22  Recommend  me  to  said  Don 
Raphael  and  to  the  Senora,  Dona  Josepha.  ... 

Now  it  remains  for  me  to  inform  Your  Reverence  of  a matter  so 
annoying  as  asking  you,  a poor  man,  for  money;  because  it  is  true 
that  the  king,  our  lord,  requests  each  Indian  to  pay  him  one  dollar  as 
a donation  for  war  expenses.  The  Comandante-General  says  that  in 
the  missions  they  should  pay  it  to  the  Fathers  from  the  temporalities 
which  the  Indians  have  in  common.  . . . The  Comandante-General 

i3  already  notified  that  your  Mission  is  poor.  . . . You  can  plead 

your  case  by  representing  the  poverty  in  a letter  which  should  contain 
nothing  else.  It  should  not  be  a long  letter;  but  it  should  be  well 
drawn  up  for  presentation  wherever  I may  judge  it  expedient.  God 
assist  you.  . 


21  Unfortunately,  the  date  of  its  dedication  can  nowhere  be  found. 

22  Psalm  143,  verses  13,  14,  12. 

23  Don  Raphael  Pedro  y Gil,  the  storekeeper.  He  was  also  the  sin- 
dico  of  the  San  Diego  missionaries. 


Mission  San  Diego 


US 

I am  in  fairly  good  health.  Poor  Fr.  Juan  Crespi  is  in  bad  health. 
Fr.  Dumetz  is  fat.  Fr.  Matias  is  well.  I commend  myself  earnestly 
to  my  beloved  Fr.  Juan  Figuer  and  to  the  other  Fathers  as  also  to 
Your  Reverence.  . . . This  may  suffice.  God  keep  Your  Reverence 

many  years  in  health  and  in  His  holy  grace.  Mission  San  Carlos  de 
Monterey,  December  8,  1781.  Your  etc.,  Fr.  Junipero  Serra.24 

On  receipt  of  this  letter,  Fr.  Lasuen  set  to  work  com- 
piling the  document  which  for  its  importance  is  reproduced 
almost  entire.  It  reads  as  follows : 

Very  Rev.  and  much  esteemed  Fr.  Presidente  Junipero  Serra:  — 
After  following  the  instructions  regarding  the  Donativo  demanded  of 
these  Indians  of  San  Diego  in  the  manner  directed  by  Your  Reverence, 
I now  forward  the  report  which  on  this  particular  subject  you  inti- 
mated should  be  sent  to  you  and  should  state  the  actual  condition  of 
the  Mission  with  all  its  poverty  and  drawbacks.  At  sight  of  it,  Your 
Reverence  will  determine  what  seems  best  and  your  judgment  shall  be 
our  rule  of  action. 

With  regard  to  the  case  in  question,  the  Comandante-General  ex- 
pressly assigns  three  causes  which  would  exempt  the  missions  from 
contributing  to  the  Donativo  or  War  Tax;  viz.,  sterility  of  soil,  epi- 
demics among  the  neophytes,  and  hostility  of  the  Indians.  Thanks  be 
to  God,  at  present  we  are  not  suffering  from  an  epidemic.  But,  as 
past  years  demonstrate,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  is  a constant  cause 
for  alarm;  while  the  sterility  of  the  land  is  palpable  and  manifest  to 
every  one.  This  was  made  clear  to  the  Comandante-General  by 
Lieutenant  Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega  in  the  year  1777.  At  that  time 
he  described  this  region  as  most  sterile,  barren,  and  unfruitful,  lacking 
humidity  as  well  as  irrigation  facilities,  so  that  planting  grain  was 
always  a risk,  owing  to  the  uncertain  rains.  Hence  it  would  be 
more  in  place  if  the  king  were  to  assign  to  this  mission  a subsidy  of 
100  or  200  fanegas  of  corn,  which  His  Majesty’s  ships,  when  trans- 
porting supplies  to  the  presidio,  ought  also  to  bring  here.  Your  Rev- 
erence will  remember  that  you  yourself  once  proposed  precisely  what 
I am  now  soliciting  with  such  earnestness.  You  will  remember  also 
how  on  my  arrival  here,  when  I told  you  that  I had  my  misgivings  as 
to  whether  what  you  proposed  would  be  carried  out,  you  replied  with 
vigorous  and  strong  determination,  “If  they  do  not  concede  this  to 
me,  we  will  abandon  this  port. 1 ’ 25 


24  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. — Like  a solicitous  father,  Fr.  Serra  adapts  his 
communications  to  the  mood  of  the  recipient — always  sympathetic,  en- 
couraging, never  harsh. 

25  “V.  R.  me  respond!  o con  una  valiente  y resolutiva  entereza:  Si 

no  me  lo  conceden,  levantaremos  el  puerto.  ” 


1 16  M issions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


It  is  our  opinion,  esteemed  Father,  that  in  the  whole  world  there 
is  not  a hospital  that  suffers  greater  want  and  possesses  smaller  and 
more  uncertain  funds  than  our  village  here;  and  that  the  greatest 
service  rendered  to  the  king  in  this  country  is  the  holding  of  the  Port 
of  San  Diego  by  means  of  this  apology  for  a mission.  The  site  is 
avowedly  unfit  and  useless  for  a mission  establishment,  if  it  is  to  be 
deprived  of  all  government  aid  and  hampered  by  the  additional  bur- 
den of  having  to  minister  to  the  presidio,  so  that  on  the  plea  of 

parsimony  the  royal  treasury  may  save  the  expense  of  a chaplain’s 

salary. 

The  pagans  are  numerous,  while  the  Christian  flock  is  small.  Of 
these,  the  majority  live  scattered  in  the  mountains  and  along  the 

beach  after  the  manner  of  savages.  Only  a small  proportion  are  gath- 
ered here  and  live  like  Christians.  The  majority  as  a rule  are  trou- 
blesome, the  rest  live  only  for  their  own  benefit.  Most  of  them  wear 
no  other  clothing  than  a breech-cloth,  which  scantily  hides  their  naked- 
ness; only  a small  portion  wear  overalls  of  coarse  cloth.  And  for 
neither  party  are  the  rations  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  habit  of  vora- 
cious eating  in  which  they  have  been  raised;  not  one  is  willing  to  put 
the  least  restraint  on  his  appetite.  And  when  no  recourse  is  taken 
to  fishing  and  hunting,  they  live  on  rats,  mice,  snakes,  vipers  and 

similar  reptiles  and  insects;  or  on  acorns  and  other  loathsome  and 
unpalatable  seeds,  which  only  the  power  of  water  and  fire  can  render 
fit  to  be  eaten.26 

I conclude,  Keverend  dear  Father,  by  saying  with  the  sincerity  of 
a religious  that  I should  have  much  more  to  say  and  that  I feel 
strongly  inclined  to  say  it  with  the  hard  will  of  a Spaniard.  But  since 
under  distressing  circumstances  as  these  it  is  best  to  conform  to  the 
will  of  the  sovereign  and  his  representatives,  let  us  hope  that  this 
essential  condition,  namely,  their  will,  be  clearly  defined;  and  that 
whatever  may  be  ordained  in  our  behalf  in  view  of  this  true  infor- 
mation, may  be  executed  very  soon.  Mission  San  Diego,  January  9, 
1782. — Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuon.27 

According  to  a communication  of  Governor  Fages,  dated 
September  20,  1783,  Fr.  Serra  petitioned  for  exemption 
from  the  war  tax  in  behalf  of  both  San  Diego  and  San 
Juan  Capistrano.  And,  in  December,  1783,  Fages  wrote 
to  Fr.  Serra,  saying  that  the  Comandante-General  had  among 
other  things  written  to  him  as  follows:  “The  Mission  of 
Loreto  has  not  contributed  anything  whatever  to  the  Dona- 


26  The  San  Diego  Indians  were  poor  material,  indeed,  out  of  which 
to  make  Christians  and  citizens. 

27  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


Mission  San  Diego 


ii  7 

tivo,  because  of  its  poverty.  Those  of  San  Diego  and  San 
Juan  Capistrano  ask  for  exemption  on  the  same  plea,  on 
which  point  I refrained  from  taking  steps  until  they  should 
direct  their  petition  through  you.” 28 

Fr.  Serra  was  well  informed  when  he  stated  that  Lieu- 
tenant Jose  Francisco  de  Ortega  would  be  transferred  to 
Santa  Barbara  Channel.  He  became  commander  of  the  new 
presidio,  which  was  established  at  what  is  now  Santa  Bar- 
bara, on  April  21,  1782.  On  that  occasion,  Fr.  Serra  him- 
self raised  and  blessed  the  Cross  which  marked  the  site  of 
the  presidio  chapel.  Ortega  was  succeeded  at  San  Diego 
by  Lieutenant  Jose  de  Zuniga.  Don  Pedro  Fages,  who  early 
in  1782  made  the  first  recorded  trip  from  the  Rio  Colorado 
to  San  Diego,  in  September  of  that  year,  succeeded  Felipe 
de  Neve  as  governor. 

“The  presidial  force,  by  regulation  at  least,”  Bancroft 
writes,  “consisted  of  five  corporals  and  forty-six  soldiers,  a 
sergeant,  and  a lieutenant.  Six  men  were  constantly  on 
duty  at  each  of  the  three  missions  of  the  district,  San 
Diego,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  San  Gabriel,  while  four 
served  at  the  town  of  Los  Angeles,  thus  leaving  a sergeant, 
two  corporals,  and  about  twenty-five  men  to  garrison  the 
military  post,  to  care  for  the  horses  and  small  herd  of  cattle, 
and  to  carry  the  mail,  which  latter  duty  in  the  time  of 
peace  was  the  hardest  connected  with  the  presidio.  The 
post  constantly  employed  a carpenter  and  a blacksmith,  be- 
sides a few  servants,  mostly  natives. 

“Respecting  the  presidio  buildings,”  the  same  author  con- 
tinues, “the  records  are  silent,  but  I suppose  that  the 
palisades  were  at  least  replaced  by  an  adobe  wall  enclosing 
the  necessary  buildings,  public  and  private.  Here  on  the 
hill  lived  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  persons,  men, 
women,  and  children.  Each  year  in  summer  or  early  in 
autumn  one  of  the  transport  vessels  entered  the  harbor  and 
landed  a year's  supplies  at  the  embarcadero  several  miles 
down  the  bay,  to  be  brought  up  by  the  presidio  mules. 


28  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


1 1 8 Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Every  week  or  two,  small  parties  of  soldier  couriers  arrived 
from  Loreto  in  the  south,  or  Monterey  in  the  north,  with 
ponderous  despatches  for  officials  here  and  to  the  north, 
and  with  items  of  news  for  all.  Each  day  of  festival  a 
friar  came  over  from  the  mission  to  say  Mass  and  other- 
wise care  for  the  spiritual  interests  of  soldiers  and  their 
families;  and  thus  the  time  dragged  on  from  day  to  day 
and  year  to  year,  with  hardly  a ripple  on  the  sea  of 
monotony.’' 29 

In  September,  1783,  Fr.  Presidente  Serra  once  more 
visited  San  Diego  for  the  purpose  of  administering  the 
Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  He  felt  that  his  end  was  near 
and  that  this  was  the  last  time  he  should  see  his  beloved 
San  Diego.  In  his  personal  Journal  of  Confirmations,  the 
venerable  Father  notes  what  occurred  on  this  visit. 

“On  September  14,  1783,”  he  writes,  “on  the  feast  of  the 
Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  third  Sunday  of  the  month  and,  therefore,  the  feast 
of  the  Sorrow  of  the  Most  Holy  Mary,  on  which  day,  thanks 
be  to  God,  I completed  fifty-three  years  in  the  religions 
habit , in  the  mission  church  of  San  Diego  de  Nipaguay,  a 
few  days  after  I arrived  by  sea  at  this  port,  after  my  High 
Mass,  etc.,  the  missionaries  being  Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de 
Lasuen  and  Fr.  Juan  Figuer,  I confirmed  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  persons;  on  Sunday,  21,  thirty-one;  on  Fri- 
day, 26,  five;  on  Sunday,  28,  fourteen;  on  St.  Michael’s 
Day,  September  29,  in  the  church  of  the  royal  presidio  of 
San  Diego,  Fr.  Lasuen  assisting,  four  neophytes  from  the 
mission  and  thirty-four  of  the  settlers  and  troops ; on  Sep- 
tember 30,  at  the  mission,  five;  on  October  5,  Rosary  Sun- 
day, fifteen;  on  October  6,  one;  in  all,  therefore,  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  persons.” 

Then,  bidding  the  two  Fathers  a last  affectionate  fare- 
well, Fr.  Serra,  on  October  7,  left  the  mission  he  had 
founded  fourteen  years  before  and  proceeded  to  the  next 


29  Bancroft,  California , i,  pp.  452-453. 


120  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

mission,  San  Juan  Capistrano.  Here  and  subsequently  at 
all  the  other  mission  establishments,  he  administered  Con- 
firmation and  consoled  his  brethren,  until  he  reached  his 
beloved  Mission  San  Carlos,  near  Monterey,  where,  on 
August  28,-  1784,  he  passed  to  his  eternal  reward.30  Fr. 
Francisco  Palou,  being  vice-presidente,  acted  as  Superior  of 
the  missions  until  September,  1785,  when  the  documents 
arrived  appointing  Fr.  Lasuen  Presidente  of  the  California 
Missions.  This  necessitated  his  transfer  to  Mission  San 
Carlos.  Fr.  Figuer  died  December  19,  1784.  From  then 
until  the  arrival  of  Fr.  Antonio  Garcia  Riobo  in  the  follow- 
ing September,  Fr.  Lasuen  was  alone  at  San  Diego.  His 
last  entry  in  the  Baptismal  Register  is  number  1,169,  made 
on  December  5,  1785.  It  seems  he  journeyed  to  San  Carlos 
Mission  by  land,  visiting  the  other  missions  on  the  way. 
On  January  3,  1786,  he  administered  Baptism  at  Mission 
San  Antonio.31  He  was  replaced  at  Mission  San  Diego  by 
Fr.  Juan  Mariner,  who  baptized  for  the  first  time  on  De- 
cember 5,  1785.  Fr.  Riobo  remained  till  November,  1786, 
when  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent  succeeded  him.  Thereafter,  for 
a good  many  years,  Fathers  Mariner  and  Torrent  labored 
together  at  San  Diego  with  much  success. 

Reporting  on  the  situation  at  San  Diego  in  1787,  Governor 
Pedro  Fages  in  accord  with  Fr.  Lasuen’s  statements  earlier 
in  this  chapter,  wrote  as  follows : “The  Mission  of  San 
Diego  which  for  a time  in  the  beginning,  was  located  on 
the  same  plat  with  the  presidio  of  that  name,  maintained 
itself  there  for  five  years.  But  experience  showed  that  the 
great  labors  there  met  with  little  success,  because  the  sandy 
soil  lacked  every  facility  for  irrigation.  The  place  was 
found  to  be  suitable  for  a garrison,  however,  the  mainte- 
nance and  permanence  of  which  were  secured  through  the 
magnanimous  support  of  the  great  king  of  Spain. 

“For  this  reason  and  to  have  better  fields  for  agriculture, 
they  moved  the  mission  two  leagues  toward  the  northeast. 


30  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  390-400. 

31  Baptismal  Becord,  Mission  San  Antonio. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 21 

taking  care,  however,  to  place  it  as  little  away  from  the 
presidio  as  possible,  partly  that  it  might  be  more  secure, 
and  partly  that  the  presidio  might  have  the  spiritual  admin- 
istration of  the  missionaries  near  enough  at  hand.  Although 
there  is  no  water  source  serviceable  for  irrigation  within 
ten  or  twelve  leagues,  and  this  locality  equally  lacks  that 
essential  requisite,  it  was  ventured  to  found  this  mission 
there,  despite  the  fact  that  only  by  dint  of  extraordinary 
efforts  it  can  subsist,  increase,  and  be  governed  after  the 
manner  of  a mission. 

“A  year  and  a half  after  transplanting  the  mission  to  this 
place,  it  was  entirely  destroyed  by  the  neophytes  and  the 
pagans,  one  missionary  and  two  mechanics  being  killed. 
For  this  reason  the  Fathers  returned  to  the  presidio  and 
stayed  there  for  the  space  of  an  entire  year,  whereupon 
the  mission  was  rebuilt  on  its  ruins  and  has  thus  been  con- 
tinued. The  pagans  of  the  district  are  most  numerous.  In 
the  beginning  they  resisted  conversion  as  they  did  nowhere 
else.  But  afterwards  they  subjected  themselves  with  such 
rapidity  that  this  was  the  first  of  the  missions  to  count  one 
thousand  baptized  converts. 

“Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  which  generally 
follows  in  the  wake  of  a new  mission,  as  also  to  the  dis- 
tance from  every  base  of  supplies,  it  became  necessary  to 
allow  the  new  Christians  to  continue  to  live  in  their  ran- 
cherias  as  they  did  before  their  conversion,  and  to  subsist 
upon  the  wild  product  of  the  land  and  on  what  was  gra- 
ciously given  them  at  the  mission.  This  method  was  always 
observed  until  the  year  1779.  The  result  was  that  of  four 
hundred  or  more  neophytes  scarcely  twenty  could  receive 
regular  rations;  nor  could  they  be  maintained  together  dur- 
ing the  regular  Christian  instruction.  In  the  meantime, 
there  was  a continuous  struggle  to  make  the  land  produc- 
tive. The  missionaries,  having  to  deny  their  neophytes  the 
provisions  whilst  the  Indians  were  increasing  the  acreage, 
stormed  Heaven  with  ceaseless  petitions  • for  rains,  when- 
ever their  fields  needed  them,  until  they  succeeded.  Thus 
it  is  that  since  1779  some  good  harvests  have  been  gathered, 


122  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Christians  have  increased,  and  the  Fathers  have  succeeded 
in  collecting  at  the  mission  about  one-half  of  their  converts. 
Here  they  are  kept,  receiving  three  regular  meals  a day 
as  at  the  other  missions,  attending  Christian  instruction 
every  day,  and  accustoming  themselves  to  labor. 

“The  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  other  half  of  converts, 
because  the  harvests  do  not  suffice  to  maintain  them.  . . . 
Those  of  the  mission  remain  at  their  native  rancherias,  but 
they  are  obliged  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  days  to  attend 
holy  Mass,  to  recite  the  prayers  in  common,  to  receive  in- 
structions in  their  Christian  duties,  and  to  accept  correction 
or  reproof  for  transgressions.  However,  the  missionaries 
regularly  experience  great  neglect  with  regard  to  attendance 
at  holy  Mass  and  at  the  divine,  services.  Still,  they  punish 
only  those  who  relapse  and  who  are  willfully  negligent. 

“Indeed,  this  tribe,  which  among  those  discovered  is  the 
most  numerous,  is  also  the  most  restless,  stubborn,  haughty, 
warlike,  and  hostile  toward  us,  absolutely  opposed  to  all 
rational  subjection  and  full  of  the  spirit  of  independence. 
The  truth  is  that  by  the  indefatigable  tolerance  and  pru- 
dence of  the  missionaries  together  with  their  constant  gentle- 
ness and  other  apostolic  traits 32  and  supported  by  corre- 
sponding and  opportune  solicitude  of  the  government,  the 
Indians  have  been  kept  quiet,  peaceful,  and  subdued  for 
seven  or  eight  years.  Nevertheless,  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  a considerable  armed  force  must  needs  be  at 
hand  in  sufficient  numbers  to  repress  their  natural  and 
crusty  pride.  Along  the  road  to  Monterey,  the  language  of 
this  tribe  is  spoken,  till  about  midway  between  this  and 
the  next  mission,  San  Juan  Capistrano.” 33 

Being  himself  the  government  of  California,  one  can 
hardly  blame  Fages  for  desiring  to  appear  as  furthering 
the  great  and  toilsome  efforts  of  the  missionaries  and  for 


32  “ Verdad  es  que  con  la  incansable  tolerancia  y prudencia  de  sus 
Misioneros  con  sus  continuos  agasajos  y otros  apostolicos  arbitrios.M 

33  Fages,  Informe  General  Sobre  Misiones,  Bancroft  Collection, 
nos.  6-12. 


Mission  San  Diego 


123 

wanting  the  Mexican  Government  to  stand  out  as  solicitous 
for  the  missions  as  such.  Nevertheless,  though  the  Mexican 
Government  manifested  some  solicitude  by  making  numer- 
ous regulations,  it  practically  allowed  the  missionaries  to 
be  thrown  upon  their  own  resources.  As  for  Fages,  he 
later  did  much  to  render  the  life  of  the  Fathers  miserable, 
instead  of  giving  them  all  possible  assistance.  In  proof  of 
this,  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  second  volume  of  the 
General  History.  All  the  help  that  the  missionaries  received 
was  a guard,  and  that  was  the  only  expense  the  Mexican 
Government  incurred  in  behalf  of  the  missions.  Nor  was 
that  anything  to  boast  of ; for  by  keeping  the  Indians  quiet, 
and  later  on  by  supporting  through  them  the  whole  govern- 
mental fabric  of  California,  the  Franciscans  were  securing 
the  territory  for  the  crown  of  Spain  and  for  Mexico. 
Surely,  to  prevent  the  missionaries  from  being  murdered 
by  the  Indians  was  under  such  circumstances  in  the  interest 
of  the  higher  Government,  and  it  can  scarcely  be  called 
assisting  the  missions  for  the  sake  of  the  missions.  Gen- 
erally, as  the  years  rolled  on,  the  soldiers  by  their  bad 
example  actually  handicapped  the  missionaries.  Indeed,  a 
year  before  Fages  made  his  report,  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment charged  the  governor  to  “preserve  the  Indians  in  their 
simplicity,  subordination,  and  discipline” ; to  have  especially 
his  troops  themselves  show  discipline,  “inasmuch  as  the  sol- 
diers serve  only  in  the  present  system  for  the  purpose  of 
infusing  respect,  of  giving  good  example  to  the  Indians, 
and  of  chastising  with  prudence  the  excesses  they  might 
commit.”  34  The  execution  of  such  instructions  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  lighten  the  work  of  the  Fathers ; but,  as 
the  reader  will  learn  from  the  General  History,  on  the  part 
of  the  soldiers  commands  and  their  execution  were  two 
different  things. 


34  “Las  tropas  que  solo  sirven  en  el  sistema  presente  para  infundir 
respecto,  dar  buen  exemplo  a los  Indios,  castigar  con  prudencia  los 
excesos  que  cometan.,, — Instruccion  of  Viceroy  Conde  de  Galvez, 
Mexico,  August  20,  1787.  Sta.  Barb.  Arch.,  ad  annum. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Unworldly  Missionaries. — Mission  Hospitality. — First  Converts. — Obsta- 
cles to  Conversion. — Baptismal  Entries. — Methods  Employed. — The 
Doctrina  Christiana. — Divine  Services. — The  Our  Father  in  Indian. — 
Sick  Calls. — Specimen  Baptismal  Entry. — Sponsors. — Marriage  En- 
tries.— Some  Mission  Stations. — Some  Marriages  at  the  Presidio. — 
Fr.  Serra’s  First  Confirmation  Visit. — Burial  of  Fr.  Juan  Figuer. 

IT  is  unfortunate  for  the  thorough  understanding  of  Fran- 
ciscan missionary  activity  in  California  that  the  Fathers 
neglected  to  transmit  to  posterity  a detailed  account  of  what 
they  personally  experienced  while  exercising  the  ministry 
among  the  natives.  Such  recitals  of  the  difficulties  they  en- 
countered, of  the  sufferings  they  endured,  of  the  occasional 
joys  and  the  more  frequent  sorrows  they  experienced,  of 
incidents  connected  with  the  conversions  they  effected — all 
this  would  have  aroused  sympathy  and  veneration  and  would 
have  thrown  a strong  light  on  various  phases  of  the  mission 
life  which  those  sandaled  messengers  of  the  Gospel  so  zeal- 
ously embraced.  But  these  men  of  God,  clad  in  the  grey 
habit  of  their  Order,  meant  and  proved  to  be  true  heralds 
of  Christ  and  His  holy  Law ; and  for  this  very  reason  they 
thought  of  nothing  less  than  to  put  down  in  writing  what 
to-day  would  be  so  interesting  and  edifying.  They  had 
tidings  of  great  import  to  communicate,  and  that  to  a 
people  who  had  first  to  be  educated  before  they  could  be 
made  to  prize  it.  In  this  task  they  were  wholly  absorbed 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  extraneous  interests.  Hence  it  is 
that,  after  compiling  the  Annual  Reports  and  refuting  occa- 
sional hostile  charges,  the  Fathers  did  not  perceive  why 
they  should  devote  their  time,  even  if  there  had  been  a sur- 
plus of  it,  to  a matter  that  they  regarded  as  of  no  conse- 
quence to  the  spiritual  and  temporal  advancement  of  their 
wards.  For  these  they  lived  and  labored,  sacrificed  them- 
selves and  all  that  was  near  and  dear  to  them.  They  re- 


Mission  San  Diego 


125 


frained  even  from  writing  descriptive  letters  to  relatives 
and  friends,  a matter  so  human  in  itself  and  often  so  ample 
a source  of  joy  and  consolation. 

Ordinarily,  therefore,  it  is  next  to  impossible  fully  to 
realize  the  obstacles  which  the  Franciscan  missionaries  in 
California  had  to  face  at  every  turn.  Nor  is  it  likely  that 
posterity  will  ever  accord  them  that  well-earned  sympathy 
and  praise  which  they  would  receive  had  they  been  less 
wrapped  up  in  their  charges.  Still,  much  may  be  discov- 
ered and  much  more  inferred  from  the  Registers  of  Bap- 
tisms, Marriages,  and  Burials,  which  happily  have  escaped 
the  ravages  of  time.  These  manuscript  folios  in  flexible 
leather  covers,  uniform  at  all  the  missions,  contain  a mass 
of  facts  in  skeleton.  A detailed  account  of  the  facts  and 
data  would  fill  many  chapters  of  highly  instructive  informa- 
tion concerning  persons,  places,  and  events  that  have  be- 
come notable  in  the  history  of  California.  We  shall  utilize 
this  important  fountain  in  order  to  elucidate  or  supplement 
our  narrative  down  to  the  year  1800. 

As  already  mentioned,  in  erecting  the  various  buildings 
provisions  were  made  for  guest  rooms.  This  is  a feature 
common  to  all  the  mission  establishments,  from  San  Diego 
to  the  northernmost,  in  Sonoma  County,  San  Francisco 
Solano,  about  seven  hundred  miles  distant.  As  Robinson 
and  other  visitors  aver,  a traveler  could  knock  at  the  doors 
of  Mission  San  Diego  and  be  sure  of  a hearty  welcome 
without  being  subjected  to  any  but  the  most  conventional 
questions.  The  best  meals  an  Indian  youth  could  prepare 
were  set  before  him;  he  was  ofifered  a fresh  clean  bed; 
and  the  next  morning  or,  if  it  pleased  him,  the  following 
week,  he  could  set  out  for  the  next  mission  on  a fresh  horse 
from  the  mission  corrals,  accompanied  by  an  Indian  boy, 
who  was  to  bring  back  the  horse,  since  another  would  be 
at  the  traveler’s  service  at  the  next  mission.  There  were 
no  charges,  nor  was  anything  accepted  as  compensation. 
Such  was  Franciscan  hospitality  during  mission  times  down 
to  the  unhappy  days  of  confiscation.  All  travelers  delight 
in  repeating  what  kindly  treatment  was  accorded  them  by 


126  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

the  “Old  Padres/’  who  would  bid  the  weary  wanderer  a 
cordial  welcome,  and  on  his  leaving  as  hearty  a farewell 
with  the  request  to  come  again.  Then  the  whole-souled  and 
unassuming  friar  would  return  to  his  charges,  happy  in  the 
thought  of  having  given  food  and  shelter  to  a fellow  being, 
and  thereby  fulfilled  the  command  of  the  Apostle,  “Let  the 
charity  of  the  brotherhood  abide  in  you ; and  hospitality 
do  not  forget ; for  by  this  some,  not  being  aware  of  it, 
have  entertained  angels.”1 

It  will  be  remembered  how  in  his  zeal  for  souls  Fr.  Serra 
thought  that  by  persuading  but  one  of  the  savages  to  bring 
a child  for  Baptism,  he  could  break  down  the  barrier  of 
hostility  and  indifference  which  kept  them  aloof  from  the 
missionaries.  How  sadly  the  good  Father  failed  has  already 
been  related.  About  one  year  later,  however,  the  persistent 
affection  displayed  by  Fathers  Paterna  and  Gomez  at  last 
conquered  some  of  the  savages.  The  exact  date  of  their 
Baptism  could  not  be  recalled  when  in  1776  the  destroyed 
Mission  Registers  were  reconstructed ; but  the  respective 
persons  and  their  parents  were  still  living  and  thus  the  first 
entry  which  had  been  made  by  Fr.  Serra  himself  with  fif- 
teen others  could  be  reproduced.  It  reads  as  follows : “A,t 
this  Mission  of  San  Diego  of  Alcala  in  Upper  California, 
the  first  to  be  baptized  by  said  Fathers  was  a boy  three 
years  of  age,  with  the  consent  of  his  parents,  who  at  present 
are  Christians,  named  Carlos  and  Praxedis,  of  this  Ran- 

cheria  of  San  Diego.  The  name  imposed  was  Francisco 

Antonio.  His  sponsor  was  Juan  Corrion,  an  Indian  of 

Mission  Santa  Gertrudis,  Lower  California,  who  was  in- 

structed as  to  his  relationship  and  obligations.” 

Doubtless,  that  April  day,  1770,  brought  to  Fathers 
Paterna  and  Gomez  the  first  genuine  happiness  enjoyed  at 
San  Diego,  when  they  could  present  to  the  Creator  the 
first  Christian  of  the  Mission.  Their  joy  may  be  likened 
to  the  happiness  of  the  mother  who  forgot  all  her  anguish 


i Hebrews , xiii,  1-2. 


Mission  San  Diego 


2 7 


for  the  joy  that  a man  was  born  into  the  world.2  From 
then  on,  similar  pleasures  multiplied,  but  only  at  the  cost 
of  similar  prayers,  mortifications,  and  self-denials ; for  the 
savage  is  fickle  everywhere.  What  patience,  prudence,  and 
firmness  must  be  exercised  to  attract,  persuade,  and  retain 
him ! Furthermore,  if  seven  years  of  age  or  older,  the 
Indian  must  be  instructed  and  induced  to  forswear  the 
gratification  of  unlawful  carnal  appetites,  to  abandon  wicked 
connections,  and  to  devote  himself  to  the  manual  labor 
necessary  for  the  support  of  himself  and  family.  At  first, 
it  was  the  ever  ready  pozole  and  atole  that  would  attract 
him ; but  this  craving  for  material  gifts,  all  that  he  could 
grasp  for  the  present,  had  to  be  transformed  into  an  in- 
telligent desire  for  supernatural  advantages  not  visible  to 
the  corporal  eyes.  When  at  last  he  yielded,  he  had  to  be 
willing  to  surrender  his  savage  liberty,  to  enlist  in  the 
Christian  army,  and  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  Christian  and 
civilized  life  like  white  people,  and  all  this  not  for  a time, 
or  while  food  was  plenty,  but  for  ever.  Who  can  compre- 
hend the  patience  required  to  advance  such  a superlatively 
dull,  carnal,  and  indolent  people  to  that  stage  of  intelli- 
gence and  determination?  Only  men,  like  these  friars,  who 
had  relinquished  every  claim  to  worldly  compensation  and 
recognition,  could  have  persevered ; and  only  such  as  they 
could  have  transformed  those  lowest  human  beings  by  the 
thousands  into  peaceful,  industrious,  and  faithful  Christians, 
and  that  in  the  face  of  opposition,  bad  example,  and  per- 
secution on  the  part  of  those  who  were  expected  to  assist 
them  at  least  negatively  in  their  noble  work. 

Generally,  Baptism  was  administered  to  one  individual  at 
a time.  Infants,  for  instance,  were  taken  to  the  sacred  font 
on  the  very  day  of  their  birth  or  on  the  day  following.  It 
was  the  rule  to  bestow  on  the  child  the  name  of  the  saint 
whose  feast  was  celebrated  on  that  day.  Hence,  if  any 
one  had  forgotten  the  day  of  his  birth,  he  had  but  to  see 


2 The  allusion  is  to  John,  xvi,  21. 


128  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

on  what  date  the  feast  of  his  patron  saint  occurred ; for 
that  would  also  be  his  birthday.  The  entries  regularly  state 
the  age,  date,  and  serial  number,  whether  single  or  married, 
and  add  the  names  of  the  parents,  of  the  native  rancheria, 
and  of  the  sponsors ; they  close  with  the  signature  of  the 
officiating  priest. 

Very  frequently,  large  numbers  of  converts  would  apply 
for  Baptism  at  the  same  time.  This  was  especially  the  case 
in  1 777,  the  year  after  the  restoration  of  the  mission.  Fr. 
Serra  had  prophesied  correctly  when  he  remarked  that  now, 
the  soil  having  been  irrigated  by  the  blood  of  a martyr, 
Fr.  Luis  Jaume,  converts  would  be  numerous.  Thus,  for 
instance,  on  November  24,  1777,  Fathers  Lasuen  and  Figuer 
entered  numbers  559-581,  thirty-two  names.  This  would 
indicate  that  a whole  class  of  catechumens  had  finished  their 
period  of  rudimentary  instruction  and  probation,  and  • had 
been  judged  sufficiently  informed  on  the  obligations  they 
contracted  by  becoming  Christians.  Such  an  occasion  was 
made  as  solemn  as  possible  and  the  lengthy  ceremonies  pre- 
scribed in  the  Ritual  for  the  Baptism  of  Adults  were  strictly 
observed,  creating  a scene  never  to  be  forgotten. 

In  the  case  of  adults,  one  of  the  Fathers  baptized  the 
men,  while  the  other  administered  the  Sacrament  to  the 
women,  of  course,  always  in  church.  Very  probably,  the 
men  and  women  had  also  been  instructed  separately,  except 
on  Sundays  when  all  assembled  in  the  church  for  the  Doc- 
trina.  Just  before  the  assault  on  the  mission,  which  took 
place  in  November,  1775,  a great  many  neophytes  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  which  fact,  Fr.  Palou 
claims,  aroused  the  powers  of  darkness  and  brought  about 
the  destruction  of  the  mission.  “On  the  first,  second,  third, 
and  fourth  of  October,  1775,”  Fr.  Fuster  writes,  “when 
Fr.  Luis  Jaume  and  I were  stationed  at  San  Diego  Mission, 
and  the  Fathers  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen  and  Gregorio 
Amurrio 3 temporarily  tarried  here,  prior  to  their  going  to 


3 Fr.  Fuster  writes  from  memory  which  in  this  instance  fails  him. 
Fr.  Amurrio  came  later. 


Mission  San  Diego 


130  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

found  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano,  we  four  Fathers  on 
the  said  four  days  baptized  the  converts  from  the  rancherias 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  or  Coapan,  San  Miguel  or  Janat,  San 
Jacome  de  la  Marca  or  Jamocha,  San  Juan  Capistrano  or 
Matamo,  and  San  Jorje  or  Neti.  It  was  accomplished  in 
this  way;  one  Father  baptized  the  male  children,  another 
the  female  children ; the  third  administered  the  Sacrament 
to  the  adult  men  and  the  fourth  to  the  adult  women.  I 
endeavored  to  ascertain  who  was  baptized  by  any  particular 
Father,  but  neither  the  Indians  remembered  nor  do  I re- 
member whom  I baptized  or  whether  they  were  adults  or 
children ; neither  do  the  sponsors  remember.  However,  I 
believe  that  those  baptized  from  October  1 to  4 by  the  said 
Fathers  are  those  I herewith  enter  in  the  register,  numbers 
331-422.”  Fr.  Fuster  then  puts  down  the  names  of  the 
ninety-one  whom  he  could  discover,  omitting  what  could 
not  be  stated  with  certainty. 

In  this  case  where  so  many  were  baptized  on  the  same 
day,  the  name  can  point  neither  to  the  day  of  birth  nor  to 
that  of  Baptism.  In  order  to  secure  for  each  the  name  of  a 
saint,  the  calendar  was  referred  to  without  regard  to  the 
day  on  which  the  feast  of  the  saint  was  celebrated. 

Instructing  these  converts,  especially  the  adults,  in  the 
rudiments  of  religion  was  a most  laborious  task,  the  more 
so  as  the  missionaries  had  to  see  that  their  pupils  never 
suffered  from  hunger.  Indeed,  it  was  through  the  stomach 
that  the  Indians  were  gained  for  Religion.  Only  after  the 
Indians  had  received  gifts  from  the  missionaries  and  felt 
satisfied  that  Christianity  would  provide  food  and  clothing 
much  better  than  paganism,  could  the  Fathers  hope  grad- 
ually to  ennoble  and  supernaturalize  and  firmly  ground  the 
Indians’  half-hearted  desire  for  Baptism.  Therefore,  they 
found  themselves  obliged  to  feed,  clothe,  employ,  and  even 
divert  their  overgrown  dusky  children.  To  facilitate  mat- 
ters, one  of  the  two  missionaries  would  shoulder  the  dis- 
agreeable task  of  managing  the  material  side  of  mission 
activity,  so  that  the  other  could  devote  himself  more  espe- 
cially to  the  spiritual  side.  There  was  no  iron-clad  rule, 


Mission  San  Diego 


l3l 

however;  the  work  was  fraternally  divided  and  in  cases  of 
emergency,  the  one  Father  would  assist  the  other. 

Concerning  the  subject-matter  which  the  Indians  had  to 
learn  and  repeat  again  and  again  until  they  knew  it  by 
heart,  the  mission  regulation  demanded  that  the  convert 
know  how  to  make  the  Sign  of  the  Cross  and  to  recite  the 
Our  Father,  Hail  Mary,  and  Apostles’  Creed;  an  Act  of 
Contrition  and  the  Acts  of  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity;  the 
Confiteor  for  Confession,  the  Ten  Commandments  of  God, 
the  Precepts  of  the  Church,  the  Seven  Sacraments,  the  Six 
Necessary  Points  of  Faith,  and  the  Four  Last  Things.  This 
constituted  what  throughout  Mission  History  is  known  as 
the  Doctrina  Christiana,  truly  much  more  than  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  our  modern  white  pagans  can  recite,  although 
they  call  themselves  Christians.  The  Alabado , used  on  all 
occasion,  would  close  the  instruction. 

This  Doctrina  was  recited  every  morning  during  or  after 
holy  Mass  and  again  in  the  evening  before  retiring.  With- 
out burdening  the  mind  or  rendering  the  task  disagreeable, 
even  the  dullest  Indian  would  in  this  way  gradually  learn 
to  recite  the  entire  groundwork  of  the  Christian  Religion, 
would  know  what  he  must  believe  and  what  he  must  do  in 
order  to  secure  his  eternal  salvation. 

This  Doctrina  was  taught  and  learned  in  Spanish,  a lan- 
guage which  in  the  beginning  the  Indian  did  not  under- 
stand ; wherefore  they  neither  understood  the  doctrines.  In 
the  first  years,  however,  that  made  no  difference.  The  In- 
dians learned  Spanish  and  the  Fathers  by  degrees  learned 
the  language  of  their  respective  charges.  In  our  schools, 
the  children  learn  many  things  they  do  not  understand. 
Until  their  mind  is  able  to  grasp  what  now  appears  to  be 
mysteries,  they  take  their  teacher’s  word  for  whatever  is 
unintelligible.  Now,  these  Indians  were  but  overgrown  chil- 
dren, and  as  to  intellect  most  of  them  remained  children. 
The  chief  thing  was  to  have  a uniform  groundwork  on 
which  to  build  the  superstructure  of  intelligent  knowdedge 
find  ready  observance.  In  schools,  the  alphabet  and  figures 
serve  a similar  purpose.  On  Sunday  afternoons  and  at 


132  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

processions,  etc.,  the  Rosary  would  be  recited  in  common 
and  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  would  be  sung  or 
recited.  But  neither  of  the  two  taxed  the  brain,  since  the 
former  consisted  of  only  the  Apostles’  Creed  and  a specified 
number  of  Paters  and  Aves.  After  the  grown  people  had 
departed  and  in  the  afternoon,  the  children  would  have 
their  time  for  instruction  in  the  Doctrina. 

Every  Sunday  and  Holyday  of  obligation,  during  the 
principal  holy  Mass,  the  sermon  or  instruction  turned  on 
some  point  of  the  Doctrina.  This  was  explained  point  by 
point  until  it  was  well  understood,  a thing  that  with  some, 
especially  with  the  older  Indians,  hardly  ever  came  to  pass. 
It  was  not  in  them,  as  we  say,  very  many  remaining  chil- 
dren even  at  eighty  and  more.  Nor  was  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary, as  long  as  they  understood  the  rudiments  which  was 
all  that  many  could  grasp.  Even  in  civil  matters  there  are 
numbers  of  Indians  who  in  spite  of  long  years  of  inter- 
course with  whites  are  still  and  always  will  remain  chil- 
dren. First  the  Fathers  would  speak  on  the  respective  point 
of  the  Doctrina  in  Spanish,  and  an  interpreter  would  repeat 
in  Indian  what  he  had  said.  That  sufficed  as  far  as  the 
rudiments  of  Faith  and  the  necessary  duties  were  concerned. 
Later,  the  missionaries  would  explain  the  matter  in  Indian. 
Some  of  the  Fathers  became  very  proficient  in  the  native 
idioms.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Indians  learned  Spanish ; 
in  fact,  the  children  and  the  men,  but  only  exceptionally 
the  women,  spoke  Castilian  very  well.  At  any  rate,  there 
was  no  more  doubt  about  understanding  what  was  taught. 
The  Our  Father  and  Hail  Mary  was  translated  into  the 
language  of  the  natives  at  all  the  missions,  as  Mofras 
proves.4  We  have  tried,  in  vain  however,  to  verify  Mofras’s 
version. 


4 The  Our  Father  in  the  language  of  the  San  Diego  Mission  Indians 
runs  as  follows,  according  to  Duflot  de  Mofras:  “Nagua  anall  amal 

tacaguach  naguanetuuxp  mamamulpo  cayuca  amaibo  mamatam  meyayam 
canaao  amat  amaibo  quexuic  echasau  naguagui  nanacachon  naquin 
nipil  meiieque  pachis  echeyuchapo  nagua  quexuic  naguaich  nacaguaihpo 


Mission  San  Diego 


133 


A great  deal  of  singing  was  done  at  the  missions.  In 
time,  the  men  formed  choirs  and  on  all  the  feasts  of  the 
year  they  sang,  of  course  in  Latin,  the  parts  of  the  Mass 
and  the  Vespers.  Many  of  the  hymns,  however,  were 
Spanish.  Naturally,  all  this  demanded  that  the  Indian  learn 
to  read  and  write.  A number  of  boys  served  the  priests 
at  the  altar.  For  this  the  brightest  were  chosen,  and  as  a 
matter  of  course  they  learned  to  read  Latin  and  Spanish. 
The  Alabado  figured  on  all  occasions. 

Catechetical  instructions  grew  very  trying  in  cases  where 
the  Fathers  had  to  travel  great  distances  from  the  mission 
to  give  them.  This  was  especially  so  when  both  Fathers 
were  needed  at  home.  If  the  missionary  could  not  return 
before  night,  he  as  well  as  the  accompanying  soldier  encoun- 
tered the  military  regulation  that  forbade  the  guard  to  be 
away  from  headquarters  during  the  night.  Strong  reasons 
would  have  to  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  reluctant  com- 
mander whenever  the  missionary  had  to  attend  to  these  out- 
side duties.  As  far  as  he  was  concerned,  the  Father  w^ould 
have  dispensed  with  a guard  and  faced  any  danger  single- 
handed  for  the  sake  of  a soul ; but  the  royal  regulations  also 
affected  the  priest.  Hence,  the  salvation  of  a soul  depended 
to  a great  extent  on  the  good  wishes  of  the  military  authori- 
ties, without  whose  leave  no  soldier  was  permitted  to  stay 
away  from  his  quarters  over  night  or  for  more  than  one 
day.  The  reader  will  observe,  therefore,  that  the  mission- 
aries were  not  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  pleased.  Later,  in 
order  that  the  Father  might  not  be  hampered  in  the  exer- 
cise of  his  office,  these  military  regulations  were  somewhat 
relaxed,  so  as  to  allow  the  soldier  to  be  absent  with  the 
priest  according  to  the  latter’s  discretion. 

The  occasions  which  called  the  missionaries  away  from 
San  Diego  were  quite  frequent  during  the  thirty  years  that 
elapsed  before  Mission  San  Luis  Rey  was  established.  Two 
incidents  of  this  kind  will  suffice  to  show  what  sacrifices 
were  demanded  of  the  Fathers. 

fiamechamel  anipuchuch-guelieh-cmapo.  Nacmuchpambo-cuchMch-cuiatpo- 
namat.  Napurja. ” (Yol.  ii,  p.  395.) 


134  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“On  Christmas  night,”  Fr.  Lasuen  writes,  “in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  the  Son  of  God,  1783,  at  the  rancheria  called 
Guechi  by  its  inhabitants  but  by  us  San  Juan  Capistrano 
El  Viejo,  after  about  two  hours  of  instruction  in  the  cate- 
chism, ‘ and  when  the  night  was  in  the  midst  of  her  course * 5, 
a little  earlier  or  later,  I baptized  privately  on  account  of 
danger  of  death  Paschal,  the  capitano  of  said  rancheria, 
aged  sixty  or  seventy  years.  I gave  him  the  name  Juan 
Maria  Capistrano  of  the  Infant  God.  I had  been  called 
from  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  at  the  request  of  the  sick 
man  by  one  of  his  sons.  The  latter  begged  hard  and  he 
employed  expressions  little  expected  in  a barbarian,  inasmuch 
as  they  were  worthy  of  a man  who  comprehended  and  who 
ardently  and  urgently  desired  his  greater  and  only  true 
good.”  6 

This  was  a Christmas  gift  bestowed  by  the  Lord  than 
which  a missionary  could  desire  no  greater.  Fr.  Lasuen, 
who  was  the  senior  missionary  at  San  Diego  and  who  relates 
the  incident,  must  surely  * have  rejoiced  and  felt  himself 
richly  repaid  for  the  long  journey  of  forty-five  miles  that 
called  him  away  from  his  children  on  Christmas  day.  Yet 
the  good  Father  smothered  his  feelings  and  merely  stated 
the  bare  facts  in  the  Baptismal  Book  under  date  of  Decem- 
ber 28,  1783. 

Six  months  later,  his  companion,  Fr.  Figuer  had  a similar 
experience  at  the  same  place.  “On  July  26,  1784,”  he  writes, 
“I  received  notice  that  at  the  rancheria  of  Guechi,  which  we 
call  San  Juan  Capistrano  El  Viejo,  a sick  pagan  woman  de- 
sired to  be  baptized.  On  arriving  there  I found  a multi- 
tude of  sick  people.  Hence  I tarried  some  days,  exhorting 
them  all  to  become  Christians.  After  giving  as  much  in- 
struction as  the  time  allowed,  I proceeded  to  baptize  those 
whom  I considered  very  ill  and  who  were  at  the  point  of 
death  or  in  grave  and  manifest  danger  of  death.  They 


s Book  of  Wisdom,  xviii,  14. 
s Baptismal  Register,  San  Diego. 


Mission  San  Diego 


*35 


were  the  thirteen  numbers  1025 — 1037.”  What  Fr.  Figuer 
experienced  in  his  heart  at  this  unexpected  reward  for  his 
laborious  trip  and  patient  efforts,  was  not  recorded.  He 
merely  adds  the  day  of  entry,  August  30,  1784,  and  his 
necessary  signature.  The  rancheria  visited  by  him  was  des- 
tined to  become  the  most  populous  mission  of  California, 
namely  San  Luis  Rey,  which  was  established  June  13,  1798. 

Truly,  as  a non-Catholic  writer  in  the  defunct  Land  of 
Sunshine  puts  it,  “those  were  toilsome  journeys  which  the 
missionaries  took  through  desolate  wastes  and  tangled  wilds. 
It  was  no  easy  task  to  teach  and  civilize  a nation  of  un- 
tamed savages ; but  sincerity  of  purpose  gave  success  to 
their  labors,  and  the  seed  which  they  planted  still  bears  a 
visible  harvest. 

“The  Indian  is  instinctively  religious,  and  possesses  a lively 
sense  of  the  power  of  the  unseen.  . . The  Spanish  friars 
acted  upon  it.  It  was  as  souls  that  the  Indians  appealed 
to  them,  souls  to  be  saved,  and  for  which  they  must  give 
an  account.  It  is  as  souls,  pathetic,  humble,  groping  after 
the  light,  that  they  appeal  to  him  who  has  witnessed  and 
shared  in  their  worship  upon  the  soil  where  the  first  mis- 
sionaries reared  the  cross.”  7 

When  the  time  was  limited,  the  Fathers  made  the  long 
journeys  on  horseback;  but  otherwise  they  went  on  foot. 
Their  way  led  over  rugged  trails,  up  and  down  mountains. 
Frequently  it  was  to  administer  Baptism  and  other  Sacra- 
ments to  dying  children  and  adults ; for  under  the  circum- 
stances the  missionaries  were  constrained  to  postpone  Bap- 
tism as  long  as  there  was  danger  of  backsliding,  which  was 
always  to  be  feared  since  the  Indians  lived  at  such  distances 
from  the  supervision  of  the  Fathers  and  among  medicine 
men  and  unlawful  relations  who  were  ever  at  hand  to 
smother  good  aspirations.  Many  may  have  been  willing  to 
join  Mission  San  Diego  in  order  to  be  away  from  the  irre- 
sistible allurements  and  to  receive  the  coveted  Baptism;  but 


7 Vol.  xi,  pp.  317-319;  Charles  Lummis,  Editor. 


136  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

unfortunately  the  mission  could  feed  only  one-half  of  its  own 
convert  population.  Doubtless,  the  hearts  of  the  zealous 
missionaries  ached  for  such  willing  candidates ; but  not  until 
the  above-mentioned  date  could  the  remedy  be  applied. 
Meanwhile,  that  no  souls  be  lost,  the  Fathers  submitted  to 
the  hardships  of  making  the  rounds  of  the  rancherias  as  far 
as  the  prospects  of  reaping  a spiritual  harvest  summoned 
them. 

The  military  post  six  miles  below  added  considerably  to 
the  trials  of  the  already  overburdened  missionaries.  It  should 
have  had  a chaplain  of  its  own,  a secular  priest,  since  the 
Franciscans  had  come  for  the  sole  purpose  of  giving  relig- 
ious instruction  and  administering  the  Sacraments  to  the 
aborigines.  But  half  a century  passed  by  before  that  proposi- 
tion, so  frequently  urged  by  the  Fathers,  was  carried  out. 
Meanwhile,  the  missionaries  attended  the  presidio  every 
Sunday,  celebrating  holy  Mass,  preaching  the  Word  of 
God,  and  visiting  the  sick  and  the  prisoners.  At  times  a 
call  would  come  from  there  of  a nature  disclosed  by  the 
following  entry  in  the  hand  of  Fr.  Fuster: 

“On  April  16,  1777,  I was  notified  by  a letter  from  Lieu- 
tenant Joseph  Francisco  de  Ortega,  comandante  of  the 
presidio  at  San  Diego,  that  one  of  the  pagan  prisoners,  who 
called  himself  Naleipoco  from  the  Otay  Rancheria,  was  very 
sick  and  wanted  to  be  baptized.  On  receipt  of  this  notice, 
I started  out  for  the  presidio  and  found  the  Indian  already 
somewhat  instructed.  I then  instructed  him  in  what  was 
still  lacking  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  and  as  the  opportunity 
was  given  for  baptizing  him  solemnly,  I did  so  according 
to  the  regulations  of  Mother  Church  in  the  very  jail  of  the 
presidio,  and  gave  him  the  name  Fernando  Salvador  de  los 
Reyes.  His  godfather  was  Don  Francisco  Aguiar,  sergeant 
in  the  leather- jacket  company  of  the  royal  presidio  of  Loreto, 
whom  I reminded  of  the  spiritual  parentage  and  obligations 
which  he  had  contracted.  In  witness  thereof  I sign  at  this 
Mission  of  San  Diego,  on  the  eighteenth  of  said  month  and 
year. — Fr.  Vicente  Fuster.” 

Names  of  white  persons  who  later  figured  prominently  in 


Mission  San  Diego 


137 


California  history  appear  quite  early  in  the  Mission  Registers. 
“Among  the  entries  in  the  book  that  was  destroyed  when  the 
mission  was  fired,”  Fr.  Fuster  writes,  “I  am  sure  of  one 
which  stated  that  Fr.  Dumetz  baptized  solemnly  in  the  church 
of  the  mission  during  the  month  of  February,  1775,  an  in- 
fant of  a few  days,  the  son  of  Don  Francisco  de  Ortega, 
Lieutenant  of  the  presidio,  and  Maria  Antonia  Carrillo,  his 
wife.  The  child  was  given  the  name  Jose  Francisco  Maria. 
The  sponsors  were  Don  Rafael  de  Pedro  y Gil,  the  Presidio 
storekeeper,  and  his  wife  Josepha  Chavira  y Lerma.  In  wit- 
ness etc.,  January  10,  1777.”  In  the  following  year,  on 
October  23,  1776,  at  the  mission,  Fr.  Serra  baptized  Juan 
Capistrano,  another  son  of  Lieutenant  Ortega.  His  name 
appears  at  number  463  in  the  Register. 

In  the  presidio  chapel,  on  the  other  hand,  Fr.  Lasuen 
baptized  on  October  11,  1781,  Francisca  Antonia  Maria, 
born  on  the  preceding  day,  daughter  of  Francisco  Xavier 
Sepulveda  and  his  wife  Maria  Candelaria  de  Redondo,  both 
from  the  Villa  de  Sinaloa,  and  recently  arrived  at  the 
presidio.  Don  Rafael  de  Pedro  y Gil  and  his  wife  were  the 
sponsors. 

On  August  26,  1785,  Fr.  Lasuen  baptized  Maria  Phelipa 
de  Jesus,  daughter  of  Corporal  Joseph  Macario  Castro  and 
his  wife  Potenciana  Ramirez,  both  of  the  Villa  de  Sinaloa. 

Fr.  Hilario  Torrent,  on  March  23,  1793,  at  the  mission, 
baptized  Maria  de  los  Dolores  y de  Gracia,  two  days  old, 
daughter  of  Juan  Joseph  Alvarado,  soldier  of  the  presidio, 
and  his  wife  Antonia  Valenzuela.  The  sponsors  were 
Joseph  Monroy,  soldier  of  the  presidio,  and  his  wife  Rita 
Villabos. 

Proud  as  those  Spanish  officers  in  the  early  days  may 
have  been,  and  proud  as  Don  Fernando  Rivera  y Moncada, 
when  military  commander,  showed  himself,  they  did  not 
deem  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  stand  sponsor  at  the  Baptism 
of  the  lowly  Indians.  Indeed,  Don  Fernando  frequently 
exercised  that  office.  Among  the  very  first  converts,  some 
were  his  spiritual  children.  For  instance,  the  second  and 


138  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

third  entered  in  the  Baptismal  Register  by  Fr.  Gomez, 
Manuela  and  Angela,  daughters  of  pagan  parents  at  the 
time,  could  claim  Don  Fernando  as  their  godfather.  Later 
on  their  parents  became  Christians  and  were  known  as 
Rafael  and  Maria  de  los  Dolores.  Also  for  the  first 
Indian  convert,  a youth  of  eighteen  and  the  eighth  entry  on 
the  list,  Don  Fernando  stood  sponsor.  Fr.  Gomez  gave  him 
the  name  Diego,  because  he  had  gone  by  that  name  from 
the  beginning.  He  was  surnamed  Rivera  in  honor  of  the 
military  commander.  His  father  was  a widower  and  a 
pagan  at  the  time.  But  later  he  became  a Christian  and 
went  by  the  name  of  Miguel.  Diego  did  great  service  as 
interpreter,  Fr.  Fuster  writes;  but  he  allowed  himself  to  be 
inveigled  in  the  revolt  and  he  was  therefore  imprisoned  as 
an  accomplice. 

Additional  information  regarding  the  activity  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  first  decade  of  the  mission  can  be  had 
from  the  restored  Marriage  Register.  The  title  page,  re- 
produced in  facsimile,  shows  that  the  register  was  opened 
by  Fr.  Junipero  Serra.  Immediately  after  follows  this  im- 
portant note : “The  first  book  which  contained  the  entries 

for  marriages  celebrated  at  this  Mission  of  San  Diego,  was 
destroyed  by  the  fire  on  November  5,  1775,  like  the  rest  of 
the  books.  As  this  has  been  noted  more  in  detail  in  the 
Registers  of  Baptisms  and  Deaths,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
repeat  it  here.  For  this  reason  the  marriages  celebrated 
from  the  beginning  to  said  date  are  entered  merely  after 
the  manner  of  the  Padron,  i.e.  by  giving  only  the  names 
as  they  are  remembered  by  the  missionary,  Fr.  Vicente 
Fuster.  That  the  style  of  entry  may  not  appear  strange,  I 
attach  this  note,  on  October  25,  1776. — Fr.  Junipero  Serra.” 

Then  follows  a note  by  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster.  “Whatever 
the  Sacred  Council  of  Trent  and  the  Holy  See  command 
for  the  worthy  administration  of  the  Sacrament  of  Matri- 
mony, has  been  exactly  observed  by  the  missionary  Fathers 
of  this  Mission  of  San  Diego,  by  my  predecessors  as  well 
as  by  those  who  were  in  charge  during  my  time.  Therefore, 
concerning  the  names  in  the  marriage  entries  that  follow, 


Mission  San  Diego 


139 


it  must  be  taken  as  a matter  of  course  that  every  prescribed 
formality  had  been  observed,  such  as  the  betrothal,  the  proc- 
lamation of  the  banns,  and  the  marriage  ceremony.  . . Mis- 
sion San  Diego,  January  14,  1777. — Fr.  Vicente  Fuster.” 

Having  entered  thirty-two  couples  in  this  summary  way, 
Fr.  Fuster  remarks,  “Those  enumerated  thus  far  are  the 
marriages  which  have  been  contracted  at  the  mission,  most 
of  the  couples  having  come  from  the  Rancheria  of  Cosoy, 
which  stood  on  the  same  spot  today  occupied  by  the  royal 
presidio  of  San  Diego.  In  witness  whereof  etc. — Fr. 
Fuster,  January  18,  1 777.” 

Then  followed  the  names  of  couples  grouped  under  the 
rancheria  where  they  had  their  domicile.  This  clear  ar- 
rangement is  of  the  utmost  importance  as  it  shows  the 
territorial  extent  of  the  missionary  activity  of  the  Fathers 
of  this  mission,  even  as  early  as  January,  1777. 

I.  Rancho  de  San  Diego  or  Cosoy,  already  noted. 

II.  Rancho  de  Nuestro  Padre  San  Francisco. 

Under  this  head,  Fr.  Fuster  enumerates  entries  33-43, 
which  he  duly  signs  and  dates,  January  18,  1777. 

III.  Rancheria  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Soledad. 

Here  Fr.  Fuster  enters  numbers  44-66,  which  he  certifies, 
dates,  and  signs  on  January  19,  1777. 

IV.  Rancheria  de  San  Antonio,  alias  Las  Choyas. 

The  marriages  numbered  67-75  were  dated  and  signed  on 
January  19,  1777. 

V.  Rancho  de  la  SSma  Cruz  en  el  Valle  de  San  Luis, 

alias  Coapan. 

Fr.  Fuster  counts  up  numbers  76-92,  dating  and  signing 
them  on  January  20,  1777. 

VI.  Rancheria  de  la  Purisima  Concepcion,  alias  Apus- 

quelc. 

Under  this  head  are  placed  numbers  93-99.  They  are 
dated  and  signed  on  January  20,  1777. 

VII.  Rancheria  de  San  Miguel,  alias  Janat. 

Only  four  appear  under  this  head,  numbers  100-103,  dated 
and  signed  on  January  20,  1777. 


140  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

VIII.  Rancheria  de  San  Jacome  de  la  Marca,  alias 
Jamocha. 

Only  numbers  104-106  were  entered.  They  were  dated 
and  signed  on  January  21,  1777. 

IX.  Rancheria  de  San  Juan  Capistrano,  alias  Matamo. 

Here  are  adduced  numbers  107-112,  dated  and  signed 

on  January  21,  1777. 

X.  Rancheria  de  San  Jorje,  alias  Neti. 

From  this  place  the  Register  enters  numbers  113-114. 
They  were  dated  and  signed  at  Mission  San  Diego,  January 
21,  1777. 

In  the  presidio  chapel,  only  three  marriages  of  whites 
took  place  before  1800.  Since  the  respective  parties  play  a 
prominent  role  in  the  later  history  of  the  missions,  the 
reader  will  be  curious  to  know  the  particulars.  The  first 
marriage,  after  the  banns  had  been  duly  published,  was  that 
of  Don  Joseph  Maria  Gongora,  single,  sergeant  from  Monte- 
rey, Mexico,  with  Rosalia  Maximiniana  Verdugo,  single, 
daughter  of  Juan  Verdugo  and  Maria  Ignacia  de  la  Con- 
cepcion Carrillo,  by  proxy,  Don  Mariano  de  la  Duz  Verdugo, 
representing  Gongora,  who  was  at  Monterey,  May  16,  1776, 
Fr.  Vicente  Fuster  officiating.  The  witnesses  were  Don  Jose 
Francisco  de  Ortega  and  Antonia  Victoria  Carrillo,  his  wife. 

The  second,  numbered  320  in  the  Register,  occurred  on 
May  10,  1789,  in  the  presidio  chapel.  The  groom  w^as 
Joseph  Maria  Pico,  soldier,  and  the  bride  Maria  Eustaquia 
Gutierrez.  These  were  the  parents  of  the  last  governor  of 
California  under  the  Mexican  flag.  As  prescribed,  the 
banns  were  published  on  three  successive  Sundays.  The 
ceremony  was  witnessed  by  Phelipe  Romero,  blacksmith 
of  the  presidio,  and  Juan  Maria  Verdugo,  soldier  of  the 
same  presidio.  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent  officiated. 

The  third  marriage  was  solemnized  also  in  the  presidio 
chapel  by  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent,  on  May  13,  1792.  It  appears 
at  number  356  in  the  Register.  The  groom  was  Juan 
Joseph  Alvarado,  soldier,  single,  legitimate  son  of  Bernar- 
dino Alvarado  and  Maria  Teresa  Castro,  native  of  the  pre- 


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142  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

sidio  of  Loreto.  The  bride  was  Antonia  Valenzuela,  legiti- 
mate daughter  of  Juan  Segundo  Valenzuela,  soldier  at  San 
Diego,  and  Agustina  Alcantar,  native  of  the  Real  de  los 
Alamos.  The  banns  were  published  on  three  successive 
festive  days,  both  at  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  and  at  Mis- 
sion San  Miguel  del  Encino,  Lower  California.  Ramon 
Buelna  and  Claudio  Lopez,  soldiers,  were  the  witnesses. 

The  arrival  of  the  good  Fr.  Presidente  was  always  a nota- 
ble event  at  San  Diego,  especially  after  he  had  received  the 
faculties  to  administer  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  His 
first  visit  for  the  purpose  of  administering  this  Sacrament 
to  the  newly  baptized  Christians  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1778. 
Here  is  how  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  himself  relates  the  visit 
in  his  personal  Journal  of  Confirmations. 

“On  September  21,  1778,  the  feast  of  the  Apostle  and 
Evangelist  St.  Matthew,  in  the  church  of  the  Mission  of 
San  Diego  de  Nipaguay,  in  the  presence  not  only  of  the 
neophytes  of  said  mission  but  also  of  the  chief  officials  and 
the  majority  of  the  families  of  the  presidio,  with  all  the 
solemnity  possible,  after  High  Mass  on  said  day,  having 
observed  all  the  regulations  and  rubrics  as  at  San  Carlos, 
that  is  to  say,  having  preached  a doctrinal  and  panegyrical 
sermon  on  the  Sacrament  I was  about  to  administer  and  on 
the  qualities  of  the  minister  of  the  Sacrament,  having 
publicly  read  in  the  vernacular  the  Pontifical  Indult,  etc., 
being  assisted  by  the  two  missionaries  of  the  said  mission, 
Fathers  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen  and  Juan  Figuer,  and 
retaining  the  same  vestments  in  which  I had  sung  the  Mass, 
I confirmed  first  Diego  Rivera,  the  first  neophyte,  and  two 
of  the  first  Christians  of  said  mission,  and  then  continued 
with  the  rest  to  the  last  one  prepared  for  that  first  day. 
They  were  seventy-four  in  number.  Having  imparted  to 
all  the  Benediction  after  the  usual  Antiphone  and  prayers 
which  the  Roman  Pontifical  prescribes,  I reminded  the 
godfathers  and  godmothers  of  the  spiritual  relationship  and 
obligations  which  they  had  contracted.  With  this  the  cele- 
bration closed. 

“I  remained  a whole  month  at  said  mission,  and  in  that 


Mission  San  Diego 


43 


time  when  a sufficient  number  of  the  scattered  Christians  had 
been  collected,  I prepared  and  disposed  the  adults  by  means 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  and  the  others  by  acts  of  con- 
trition for  their  faults,  and  explained  to  all  the  nature  of 
the  holy  Sacrament  which  they  were  about  to  receive  on  a 
specified  day.  Then,  after  my  Mass,  which  on  those  days 
was  always  a High  Mass,  preceded  by  the  ringing  of  the 
bells,  I administered  the  holy  Sacrament.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances there  were  in  all  twelve  days  on  which  I con- 
firmed and  the  number  of  those  who  were  confirmed  on 
those  days,  children  and  adults,  was  six  hundred  and  ten, 
among  whom  were  some  children  of  Spaniards  and  of  other 
non-Indian  classes.  Of  all  the  neophytes  entered  in  the 
Padrones,  the  Fathers  assured  me  that  only  twelve  were 
missing,  but  that  they  could  not  be  found.  A new  blank 
book  was  set  apart  for  noting  the  said  Confirmations  and 
others  in  the  future,  which  I myself  entered.  In  the  said 
entries  are  the  names  of  the  confirmed  as  well  as  of  the 
godfathers  and  godmothers.  On  October  18,  which  was 
the  nineteenth  Sunday  after  Pentecost,  the  last  Confirma- 
tions were  administered,  and  on  that  day  I bade  farewell 
and  left  the  mission.  I staid  over  night  at  the  presidio, 
where  on  the  following  morning  after  holy  Mass  I took  the 
road  for  the  next  mission. — Fr.  Junipero  Serra.” 

As  already  related  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  Fr. 
Presidente  visited  Mission  San  Diego  for  the  last  time  in 
1783.  His  purpose  was  to  administer  Confirmation  to  those 
who  had  been  baptized  since  his  foregoing  visit  and  to  bid 
a last  farewell  to  his  beloved  brethren.  For  he  felt  that  his 
end  was  approaching  and  that  he  would  never  see  them 
again  in  this  life. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  the  notice  of  the  death  of  Fr. 
Juan  Figuer,  the  companion  and  fellow  sufferer  of  Fr. 
Lasuen.  He  passed  to  his  eternal  reward  in  December,  1784. 
The  entry  in  the  Death  Register  reads : 

“No.  263.  Rev.  Preacher  Apostolic,  Fr.  Juan  Figuer. 

“On  December  19,  1784,  I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  in 
the  church  of  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  to  the  body  of  the 


144  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Figuer,  Preacher  Apostolic  of  the  College  of 
the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  of  San  Fernando  de  Mexico, 
missionary  of  this  Mission,  member  of  the  Holy  Province  of 
Aragon,  and  native  of  Anento  in  said  kingdom.  He  very 
devoutly  received  the  holy  Sacraments  of  Penance,  Eucharist, 
and  Extreme  Unction.  In  witness  whereof  I have  signed  on 
said  day,  month,  and  year. — Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de 
Lasuen.” 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Reports  Demanded. — Cemeteries. — Mechanical  Arts. — Statistics. — School 
at  Presidio. — Banner  Year  at  Mission. — Building  Activities. — Grape- 
vines.— Elections. — Dissatisfied  Indians. — Troubles  of  Fr.  Panella 
and  Fr.  Mariner. — Buildings. — Dominicans. — -Death  of  Fr.  Juan 
Mariner. — Grapevines. — Earthquake. — Furious  Indian. — His  Punish- 
ment.— Transfer  of  Bodies  of  Deceased  Missionaries. — Death  of  Fr. 
Nicolas  Lazaro. — Mission  Aqueduct. — Smythe’s  View. — New  Church 
Begun. — Dedication. — Specimen  of  Sectarian  Gullibility. — Death  of 
Fr.  Pedro  Panto. — Poisoned  by  Cook. — Fr.  Tapis  on  the  Subject. — 
Arrillaga  on  the  Friars. — The  Aqueduct. — Infirmary. — Church  Goods. 
— Santa  Isabel. — Difficulties. — Chapel  Erected. — Dedication. — Numer- 
ous Baptisms. — Present  Condition. 


ROM  Monterey,  under  date  of  November  28,  1791.  Fr. 


Presidente  Lasuen  issued  a circular  notifying  the 
Fathers  that  annually,  beginning  with  January  1,  1792,  a 
report  in  duplicate  form  should  be  drawn  up  at  each  mission 
and  sent  to  him,  because  the  Most  Reverend  Commissary- 
General  and  the  College  at  Mexico  demanded  a general 
report  compiled  from  the  local  accounts.  At  the  same  time, 
to  facilitate  matters,  Fr.  Lasuen  set  up  a formula  which  the 
Fathers  had  but  to  fill  out.  Accordingly,  exact  figures  and 
statements  were  thereafter  made  under  these  heads : Baptisms, 
Marriages,  Deaths,  Indians  at  the  Mission,  Cattle,  Sheep, 
Goats,  Pigs,  Horses,  Mules,  Plantings,  Harvests,  Buildings, 
Furniture  in  Church  and  House,  Implements,  Shops.  Though 
annual  reports  had  been  made  before,  from  now  on  the 
returns  of  the  missionaries  were  more  systematic  and  minute, 
as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  the  narrative. 

In  addition,  a royal  decree  of  1787,  demanded  Biennial 
Reports  from  each  mission.  These  were  to  state  the  number 
of  missionaries,  the  stipends  received  from  the  Pious  Fund, 
the  number  of  male  and  female  Indians,  the  number  of  boys 
and  girls  under  nine  years  of  age,  and  the  difference  in 
numbers  between  that  and  the  immediately  preceding  Bien- 


146  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

nial  Report.  For  reasons  unknown  this  order  failed  to 
reach  California  until  1795.  Still  later,  in  October,  1806, 
the  Superior  of  San  Fernando  College  requested  reports 
on  the  number  of  annual  Communions  and  Confessions. 
The  information  on  these  subjects  will  be  found  in  tabular 
form  at  the  end  of  the  narrative. 

In  his  first  General  Biennial  Report,  dated  San  Carlos 
Mission,  March  11,  1795,  Fr.  Lasuen  says  that  from  San 
Diego  to  San  Francisco  as  many  as  seventeen  or  eighteen 
Indian  languages  or  idioms  were  spoken,  and  that  there  were 
not  two  missions  where  one  and  the  same  Indian  language 
was  used. 

The  local  annual  reports  of  Mission  San  Diego  for  the 
years  1 784 — 1792  seem  to  have  perished,  since  none  of 
them  can  be  found.  But  beginning  with  the  year  1793, 
the  annual  statements  on  the  condition  of  the  establishment 
are  nearly  complete.  Before  culling  from  this  source,  it 
may  as  well  be  related  right  here  what  Fr.  Presidente 
Lasuen  under  date  of  December  20,  1792,  writes  to  Gover- 
nor Arrillaga,  at  the  latter’s  request,  on  the  subject  of 
mission  cemeteries.  “I  herewith  comply  with  the  order  of 
your  Honor  of  October  28,  last,  by  informing  you  that  at  all 
Missions  of  this  New  California,  with  the  exception  of  one 
or  two,  there  are  cemeteries,  but  not  outside  the  village  (not 
away  from  the  population).  They  consist  of  a plot  of  ground 
surrounded  by  a fence  of  palisades  or  of  adobe,  in  the  cen- 
ter of  which  there  stands  a cross.  The  settlers  usually 
take  the  dead  for  burial  to  the  nearest  mission  cemetery. 
Those  of  the  presidio  sometimes  do  likewise,  but  on  other 
occasions  they  bury  the  dead  in  the  presidio  churches.  The 
cemetery  of  the  presidio  of  San  Diego  is  situated  on  one 
side  of  the  church,  which  is  not  the  case  at  other  presidios.1 
The  cemetery  of  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  occupies  the  land 


1 Archbishop 's  Archives,  no.  47b. 


Mission  San  Diego 


H7 

to  a width  of  ten  varas  (or  twenty-nine  feet)  along  the 
whole  length  of  the  church  and  vestry  on  the  north  side.”  2 

Xo  report  was  demanded  by  the  government  on  the  prod- 
uct of  the  various  mechanical  workshops,  which  is  to  be 
regretted,  because  information  about  mechanical  arts,  a most 
important  feature  of  life  at  the  missions,  would  now  be  of 
the  greatest  value.  That  such  arts  were  taught  is  clear 
from  this  interesting  item  mentioned  by  Fr.  Lasuen.  “A 
few  days  ago,”  he  informs  Governor  Arrillaga  on  Decem- 
ber 21,  1792,  “arrived  here  at  San  Carlos  from  San 
Diego  at  my  request  Antonio  Domingo  Henriquez.  He 
brought  along  his  Indian  wife  from  San  Diego.  At  all  the 
missions  of  the  South  as  far  as  San  Luis  Obispo,  he  has 
made  spinning-wheels,  warping-frames,  combs,  looms,  and 
all  the  utensils  of  the  art  save  carding  instruments.  He 
has  taught  carding,  spinning,  and  also  the  weaving  of 
various  woolen  cloths,  also  of  the  Sayal  Franciscano  (coarse 
woolen  cloth)  of  which  they  have  already  made  clothing  for 
some  missionaries.”  3 

In  1793,  a granary,  96  by  24  feet,  was  built  of  adobe  and 
roofed  with  tiles. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1794,  Fathers  Mariner  and  Tor- 
rent write : “Three  buildings  have  been  enlarged ; a por- 

tion of  the  walls  that  guard  the  mission  has  been  erected;  a 
vineyard  and  a grove  have  been  surrounded  with  a wall  of 
adobe  forming  a circuit  of  five  hundred  varas  (more  than 
fourteen  hundred  feet)  ; and  the  fields  have  been  prepared 
for  planting.”  The  Indians  must  have  labored  with  a will, 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  whole  mission  population  con- 
sisted of  862  souls,  of  whom  only  one-half  or  even  less  lived 
near  by;  and  of  these  a large  portion  of  the  men  had  to 
till  the  land,  care  for  the  live  stock,  or  were  occupied  at 
weaving,  shoemaking,  tailoring,  and  other  mechanical  arts. 


2 “ Su  cementerio  pegado  al  costado  del  norte  de  todo  el  largo  de 
iglesia  y sacristia,  y de  diez  varas  de  ancho.  ” Fr.  Lasuen,  May  10. 
1783. 

3 Archb.  Arch.,  no.  48. 


148  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


In  1795,  the  Fathers  to  their  great  joy  discovered  a spring 
which  produced  so  much  water  that  they  decided  to  use  it  for 
irrigating  the  land.  Unfortunately,  the  report  does  not  indi- 
cate its  location.  During  that  same  year,  an  expedition 
set  out  to  look  for  mission  sites.4  In  1796,  a wall  running 
along  the  arroyo  was  plastered  and  two  of  the  buildings 
were  enlarged.  From  the  Biennial  Reports  of  this  year, 
1796,  we  learn  that  the  two  missionaries  of  San  Diego 
received  each  a stipend  in  the  shape  of  various  goods  and 
articles  amounting  to  $400,  and  that  the  other  Father  who 
was  staying  at  the  mission  as  supernumerary  received  no 
stipend.  The  Indian  populations  comprised  412  males  and 
496  females,  in  all  908  souls. 

In  1795,  Governor  Borica  writes : “At  the  presidio  of 
San  Diego,  Sergeant  Don  Manuel  de  Vargas,  retired  from 
military  service,  is  in  charge  of  the  school.  His  salary  is 
$100,  which  is  provided  by  the  troops  and  others.”  The 
school  had  been  opened  that  year.  On  September  29,  he 
had  an  attendance  of  twenty-two  pupils.5  Likewise,  in  1795, 
the  missions  of  this  district  were  requested  to  send  each  four 
or  five  Indians  to  the  presidio  to  learn  stone-cutting  and 
brick-laying.6 

The  year  1797  was  a banner  year.  As  many  as  565  Indians 
were  baptized,  so  that,  after  subtracting  deaths,  the  popula- 
tion rose  from  908  to  1,405.  For  the  Fathers,  this  meant 
immense  work  in  a spiritual  way,  not  to  speak  of  the  worry 
so  many  additional  mouths  to  be  fed  and  bodies  to  be 
clothed  involved.  However,  as  the  Fathers  were  out  for 
souls,  their  happiness  far  surpassed  their  hardships.  Thus, 
in  1797,  San  Diego  outstripped  both  San  Gabriel  and  San 
Antonio  and  became  the  most  populous  mission  in  California. 

Since  more  water  was  needed  for  mission  purposes  the 


4 See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  490-491. 

s Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  Records,  v.  650.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries, 
vol.  ii,  p.  474. 

6 Bancroft,  i,  p.  652. 


Mission  San  Diego  149 

Fathers  built  a ditch  1,300  varas  or  yards  long  that  brought 
water  to  the  establishment.  The  wall  along  the  arroyo 
was  lengthened  with  masonry  to  a distance  of  eighty  varas. 
For  the  sick,  four  houses  were  constructed  fifty-two  varas 
long  and  five  varas  wide,  and  covered  with  tiles. 

The  Biennial  Report  for  1797-1798  gives  the  important 
information  that  grapes  were  raised  and  some  wine  was 
pressed.  Fathers  Juan  Mariner  and  Jose  Panella  were 
stationed  there  at  the  time,  but  Fr.  Jose  Barona  assisted  as 
supernumerary.  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent,  on  November  8,  1798, 
had  sailed  for  Mexico,  where  he  died  before  May  14,  1799. 

At  the  beginning  of  1799,  the  usual  elections  of  alcaldes 
and  regidores  were  held.  On  January  20,  Fathers  Mariner 
and  Panella  reported  that  the  Indians  Jayme  Samop  and 
Antonio  Pellau  had  been  elected  alcaldes,  and  Bernardino 
de  Sena  with  Angel  Natamias  regidores. 

During  1798,  some  of  the  Indians  were  disposed  to  be 
troublesome.  They  manifested  dissatisfaction  particularly 
with  Fr.  Jose  Panella,  a new  missionary.  After  investigat- 
ing the  case,  Fr.  Lasuen,  under  date  of  September  30,  1798, 
wrote  from  San  Carlos  to  Governor  Borica  that  the  com- 
plaints against  Fr.  Panella’s  asperity  had  little  foundation, 
but  that  nevertheless  appropriate  steps  would  be  taken  to 
eliminate  any  cause  for  dissatisfaction  as  he  would  not 
permit  any  of  his  subjects  to  do  injustice  to  the  natives. 
Thereupon,  Governor  Borica  replied  on  the  next  day,  “In 
consequence  of  your  communication  of  yesterday,  I have 
instructed  the  commander  of  San  Diego  to  keep  in  mind  the 
last  chapter  of  the  Instructions  which  treat  of  how  to  listen 
to  complaints  of  Indians  of  the  mission  without  favoring 
them  entirely,  but  to  assure  them  that  they  shall  have  what 
they  need,  and  to  blame  and  reprove  them  in  what  they 
deserve.”  7 

Fr.  Panella  himself  explained  to  Governor  Borica  under 
date  of  November  21,  that  the  complainants  were  dissatisfied 


7 Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


150  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

because  he  would  not  let  them  have  their  way  at  certain 
feasts.8 

Governor  Borica,  however,  directed  Comandante  Manuel 
Rodriguez  of  San  Diego  to  institute  a secret  investigation. 
This  was  done,  and  Rodriguez  reported  as  follows : 

In  view  of  the  confidential  note  of  Your  Honor,  in  which  you 
advise  me  of  the  complaint  made  by  the  Indian  of  this  mission  who 
is  called  Andres  and  who  turned  to  Your  Honor  to  accuse  Fr.  Juan 
Mariner,  the  missionary,  I have  to  say  that  I have  been  informed  by 
three  individuals.  All  witnesses  expressed  themselves  to  the  effect 
that  two  Indians  of  the  rancheria  died  in  consequence  of  having  been 
taken  out  of  the  Mission  calabozo  very  ill;  and  they  added  that  the 
diarrhoea  from  which  the  Indians  died  infected  the  majority  of  the 
neophytes;  that  they  contracted  the  illness  in  jail, 9 into  which  they 
had  been  placed  by  the  said  missionary  because'  of  robberies;  that  no 
one  was  made  to  work  when  ill,  unless  his  illness  was  not  known ; 
that  it  is  true,  however,  that  the  punishment  of  twenty  or  twenty-five 
lashes  is  usually  added  to  that  of  confinement,  but  only  in  the  case 
of  real  robberies  or  of  very  grave  suspicion  thereof;  that  no  case  has 
occurred  where  pozole  and  atole  was  wanting  for  all,  although  it  has 
not  been  administered  to  such  prisoners  in  such  abundance  as  they 
generally  demanded;  and  that  it  is  likewise  true  that  they  are  made 
to  go  out  to  work  at  daybreak  from  which  they  return  for  meal 
which  lasts  an  hour,  and  then  resume  work  until  sunset.*0  This  is 
all  I can  say  to  Your  Honor  in  the  brief  report  which  you  demand 
by  your  order  of  November  25,  1798.  God  keep  you  many  years. — 
San  Diego,  December  19,  1798.  Manuel  Rodriguez.** 

The  truth  is  that  the  mission  regulations  directed  that 
neophytes,  except  the  infirm  and  incapacitated,  rise  at  day- 
break for  morning  prayers,  holy  Mass  and  the  Doctrina, 
whereupon  they  take  breakfast.  Work  was  then  begun 
about  8 o’clock  and  lasted  till  noon  or  Angelus  at  12.  They 
returned  to  work  at  2 o’clock  and  continued  till  about  5, 
when  there  would  be  the  Doctrina  and  supper.  Thereafter, 


s Archb.  Arch.,  no.  166. 

9 But  the  same  epidemic  afflicted  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  in  1798. 
See  Bancroft,  p.  654,  note  20. 

*°  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  554-567,  for  details  on 
mission  routine. 

11  Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xvii,  p.  105. 


Mission  San  Diego 


iSi 

amusements  could  be  indulged  in,  which  for  the  girls 
ceased  at  8 o’clock,  while  the  youths  might  continue  till 
9 o’clock  if  they  wished.  The  fact  is,  therefore,  that  the 
Indians  labored  only  six  or  seven  hours  a day. 

Some  of  the  Indians  appeared  disposed  for  a frolic  at 
times,  as  we  gather  from  Bancroft.12  Three  neophytes,  for 
instance,  at  one  time  in  1794  were  found  stowed  away  in 
the  Concepcion  eight  days  out  from  the  port.  They  claimed 
to  have  done  this  for  sport,  and  they  were  sent  back  from 
San  Bias.  Again,  in  1798,  a runaway  neophyte  was  sent 
back  from  Tepic. 

During  the  last  year  of  the  century,  1799,  much  building 
was  done.  A large  room  for  the  mission  guards  was 
erected,  measuring  fifteen  and  one-half  by  twenty-five  and 
one-half  feet.  The  material  was  presumably  adobe,  though 
that  circumstance  is  not  mentioned.  A room  for  the  cor- 
poral of  the  guard  was  added.  It  measured  sixteen  feet 
in  length  and  presumably  had  the  width  of  the  preceding 
room.  One  new  structure,  the  dimensions  of  which  are 
not  stated,  was  erected  to  shelter  the  iron  implements  and 
utensils.  Another  structure  measured  fifty-six  feet  in  length ; 
its  width  is  not  given,  though  it  probably  corresponded  to  the 
main  wings,  that  were  fifteen  and  one  half  feet  wide. 
Finally,  a remarkable  building  was  erected  which  is  de- 
scribed as  follows:  “Another  structure  was  built,  twenty- 

three  and  one-half  Spanish  yards  (67  feet)  long  and  thirteen 
and  one-half  yards  (38  feet)  wide.  It  had  a pilar  in  the 
center,  measuring  ten  varas  (28  feet)  in  height  and  being 
one  vara  and  a quarter  (4  feet)  square,  of  masonry,  from 
which  the  beams  ran  down  on  the  adobe  walls.  It  was 
covered  with  tiles.”  The  purpose  of  this  building  is  not 
stated,  but  it  is  seen  in  the  cut. 

Friendly  visits  from  Dominican  Fathers  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia were  frequent  in  the  last  decade  of  the  century. 
Generally  they  would  be  asked  to  officiate  at  a Baptism  or 


12  History,  vol.  i,  p.  655. 


MISSION  SAN  DIEGO  IN  1848  (From  a Drawing) 


Mission  San  Diego 


153 

a burial  at  both  the  mission  and  the  presidio.  The  entry 
in  that  case  always  has  the  remark  “de  licentia — by  permis- 
sion.” The  first  Dominican  who  appears  in  the  Register 
of  Baptisms  is  Fr.  Caietano  Pallas,  who  baptized  on  April 
5,  1791.  Other  Dominicans  officiating  were  Fr.  Josef 

Loriente,  in  September,  1791,  June,  1792,  and  July,  1798; 
Fr.  Mariano  Apolinario,  in  October,  1794,  and  October,  1795 ; 
Fr.  Miguel  Lopez,  in  May  and  June,  1795  ; Fr.  Josef  Conause, 
of  Santo  Tomas,  in  July,  1798;  Fr.  Ramon  Lopez  of  San 
Vicente  Ferrer,  in  November,  1798;  and  Fr.  Eudaldo 
Surroca,  of  Santo  Tomas,  in  November,  1801. 

Mission  San  Diego  suffered  a great  loss  in  the  death  of 
her  senior  missionary,  Fr.  Juan  Mariner.  He  had  officiated 
at  a burial  (number  1,048)  for  the  last  time  on  December 
23,  1799,  and  had  entered  his  last  baptisms  (numbers  2,710- 
2,711)  on  January  20,  1800.  The  entry  of  his  funeral  in 
the  Death  Register  is  laconical  enough.  It  reads  as  fol- 
lows: “No.  1,059.  On  January  30,  1800,  at  this  Mission 

of  San  Diego,  I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  to  the  body  of  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Mariner,  Missionary  Apostolic,  and  missionary 
of  said  Mission,  who  died  on  the  preceding  day  at  half  past 
seven  o’clock  in  the  night.  In  testimony  whereof  I sign, 
Fr.  Jose  Faura.” 

Fr.  Mariner  had  been  stationed  at  the  mission  since 
December,  1785.  What  little  is  known  about  him  will  be 
found  in  the  biographical  sketches.  Fathers  Panella  and 
Barona  had  been  the  assistants  of  the  deceased.  Why  Fr. 
Faura,  who  till  then  had  been  stationed  at  San  Luis  Rey, 
performed  the  burial  ceremonies  is  not  clear.  Thereafter 
he  did  not  officiate  at  any  other  ceremony  at  San  Diego, 
although  on  a visit  in  February  and  October,  1799,  he  ad- 
ministered Baptism.  He  was  next  transferred  to  San  Juan 
Capistrano. 

In  his  Biennial  Report  of  February  25,  1801,  Fr.  Lasuen 
states  that  “the  Missions  of  San  Diego,  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano, San  Gabriel,  San  Buenaventura,  Santa  Barbara,  and 


154  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

San  Luis  Obispo  raise  grapes  and  press  some  wine.13  In 
most  missions,  despite  our  endeavors,  we  have  no  success, 
since  we  missionaries,  being  all  Europeans,  do  not  know 
the  climatic  or  other  situations.  In  some  missions  grape 
culture  and  wine  pressing  succeed,  in  others  the  result  is 
distressing;  whether  by  reason  of  the  soil  or  the  climate,  they 
are  failures.  . .”  Qn  February  21,  1803,  he  notes  that  “in 
some  missions  they  have  begun  to  harvest  olives ; and  at 
San  Diego  they  have  already  made  some  very  good  olive 
oil.”  14 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  last  year  of  the  century,  this 
southern  district  experienced  a somewhat  severe  earthquake. 
From  Loreto,  Lower  California,  under  date  of  January  16, 
1801,  Governor  Arrillaga  reported  to  the  viceroy  that  on 
the  eleventh  of  the  preceding  month  the  lieutenant-commander 
of  San  Diego  presidio  had  informed  him’  that  on  November 
22,  1800,  at  1 :30  p.m.,  an  earthquake  had  occurred  which 
lasted  six  minutes.  Several  dwellings  occupied  by  the 
soldiers,  the  warehouse  for  clothing,  and  the  house  of  the 
lieutenant  of  volunteers  suffered  damage.  The  earthquake 
extended  as  far  as  the  Mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano, 
twenty-five  leagues  to  the  north,  and  there  threw  down  the 
wall  of  the  transept  of  the  church  which  they  were  build- 
ing.15 

It  was  still  dangerous  for  even  the  devoted  missionaries 
to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  Indians  in  their  present 
half-enlightened  state ; and  that  might  happen  through  no 
fault  of  the  Fathers.  A mere  refusal  to  gratify  the  whim  of 
a native  or  a slight  scolding  would  suffice  to  excite  him  to 
seek  revenge.  One  of  these,  named  Hilario,  had  gone  so  far 
as  to  throw  a stone  at  one  of  the  missionaries.  This  was  a 


13  ‘ 1 Comen  uvas  v se  hace  algun  vino. ' ’ 

]4<<Ya  en  San  Diego  se  ha  hecho  un  poco  de  aceyte  muy  bueno.  ” 
Sta.  Bari.  Arch. 

is  Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xxi,  pp.  134-138,  Bancroft  Collection. 
Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  p.  10G,  notes  also,  on  the  authority  of  the  Provincial 
Becords,  xii,  21,  that  on  May  25,  1803,  an  earthquake  slightly  damaged 
the  San  Diego  Mission  church. 


Mission  San  Diego 


iS5 

serious  matter.  The  corporal  of  the  guard  doubtless  re- 
ported  the  case  to  Captain  Manuel  Rodriguez,  commander 
of  the  presidio.  He  appears  to  have  thought  the  case  of 
sufficient  importance  to  go  before  the  governor;  for  Gover- 
nor Arrillaga  writing  to  Rodriguez  from  Loreto,  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, under  date  of  February  16,  1805,  says,  “The  act  of 
the  Indian  Hilario,  which  you  refer  to  me  under  date  of 
January  10,  deserves  severe  chastisement.  To  have  the 
audacity  of  throwing  a stone  at  his  missionary,  is  something 
of  which  there  are  few  examples.  In  order,  therefore,  that 
the  others  may  take  a lesson  it  is  necessary  that  he  be  kept 
in  prison,  where  on  nine  successive  feast  days,  always  after 
High  Mass,  he  shall  be  given  twenty-five  lashes.  On  the 
other  nine  Sundays  he  shall  be  given  thirty-five  or  forty 
stripes;  moreover,  it  is  necessary  that  you  have  six  other 
Indians,  every  Sunday  different  ones,  come  from  the  mission 
to  be  present  at  the  punishment.  After  what  I order  now 
has  been  carried  out,  I shall  determine  what  destination 
will  have  to  be  assigned  to  him.  Furthermore,  I direct 
that  you  in  this  punishment  show  no  clemency.”  16  Clearly, 
Governor  Arrillaga  held  the  missionaries  in  veneration  and 
wanted  them  treated  with  due  respect. 

On  May  4,  1802,  Fr.  Panella  in  his  Biennial  Report  to  Fr. 
Lasuen  writes : “My  companion  does  not  sign  because  he 

is  in  the  vineyard,  and  the  mail  carrier  allows  no  time  to 
wait  for  him.”  This  was  Fr.  Barona.  Evidently  the 
Franciscans  looked  closely  to  their  temporal  affairs,  although 
they  very  much  preferred  to  attend  to  their  chief  work,  the 
spiritual  affairs  of  the  dusky  children.  However,  as  a 
means  to  the  end  for  which  they  had  come,  the  Fathers 
would  not  shirk  the  disagreeable  task  of  leading  in  work 
on  the  farm  or  of  looking  after  the  live  stock. 

In  the  same  year,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  Fr. 
Lasuen  in  his  defense  of  the  missionaries,  deplores  the 
situation  at  Mission  San  Diego  where  circumstances  per- 
mitted only  one-half  of  the  Indians  to  live  at  the  mission. 


16  Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  Bee.,  xii,  35-36.  Bancroft  Collection. 


156  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

For  the  next  several  years,  nothing  specific  is  reported  in 
the  way  of  building;  but  in  1804,  an  unusual  ceremony  took 
place  at  the  mission.  In  the  Death  Register  it  is  headed 

Traslacion  de  los  Cadaveres  de  los  Padres  Luis  Jaume, 
Juan  Figuer,  y Juan  Mariner. 

The  entry  reads:  “On  April  26,  1804,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Commander  of  the  neighboring  presidio  of  San  Diego, 
Don  Manuel  Rodriguez  and  his  troops  formed  in  a line,  we 
the  undersigned  missionaries  of  this  mission  of  the  same 
name  transferred  the  bodies  of  the  three  deceased  ex- 
ministers,  and  after  a Vigil  and  High  Mass  for  their  repose 
placed  them  in  one  and  the  same  tomb,  situated  beneath  the 
small  arch  which  is  between  the  two  altars  of  the  neza  church, 
but  each  one  in  its  own  coffin.  The  larger  contains  the 
body,  still  entire  and  clothed,  of  the  Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Mariner, 
who  died  on  January  29,  1800;  the  middle  sized,  with  the 
skeleton  of  Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Figuer,  who  passed  away  on 
December  18,  1784;  the  smaller  coffin,  held  the  remains  of 
the  Rev.  Fr.  Luis  Jaume,  who  with  utmost  inhumanity  and 
fierceness  was  assaulted,  beaten  and  killed  by  his  own  sons 
whom  he  had  regenerated  in  Christ.  In  order  that  for 
all  time  to  come  they  may  be  recognized  clearly,  we  had 
three  stones  placed  over  said  tomb.  The  stone  nearest  to 
the  Virgin,  our  Lady  of  Pilar,  marks  the  remains  of 
Fr.  Jaume;  the  one  next  to  it,  near  the  statue  of  San  Diego, 
points  out  the  body  of  Fr.  Mariner.  The  stone  which 
stands  most  distant  and  faces  the  south,  indicates  the  re- 
mains of  Fr.  Figuer.  Whose  souls  through  the  mercy  of 
God  may  rest  in  peace.  Amen.  This  is  the  very  truth, 
which  we  sign  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  the  same  month 
and  year. — Fr.  Mariano  Payeras.”  No  other  ' signatures 
follow. 

Less  than  three  years  later,  the  remains  of  another  Father 
were  laid  to  rest  in  the  same  church,  as  the  following  entry 
number  1,727,  in  the  Death  Register  shows:  “On  August 

19,  1807,  Fr.  Jose  Barona  gave  ecclesiastical  burial  in  the 
church  of  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  under  (the  statue  of), 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 57 

San  Jose  to  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro,  super- 
numerary missionary  at  said  mission.  He  was  a member 
of  the  holy  Province  of  Burgos,  and  had  been  missionary 
of  San  Fernando  Rey.  He  had  received  the  holy  Sacraments 
as  directed  by  holy  Mother  Church.  In  testimony  whereof 
I sign,  Fr.  Jose  Sanchez.” 

Fr.  Lazaro  had  been  at  the  mission  but  a short  time, 
to  recuperate  from  ill  health.  He  entered  his  first  Baptism 
on  June  25,  and  baptized  only  once  more,  nine  days  before 
his  death,  that  is,  on  August  9,  1807. 

The  first  year  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Bancroft  relates,17 
proved  a severe  one  for  the  mission  from  a material  point  of 
view.  The  rains  were  late,  and  there  was  much  want  of 
grain  during  the  year,  as  also  in  1803.18  “It  may  be  that 
these  droughts  impelled  the  Fathers  to  construct  an  extensive 
system  of  irrigation  works,  and  that  the  works,  whose  re- 
mains are  still  to  be  seen,  were  probably  completed  during 
the  next  few  years.  About  three  miles  above  the  mission 
the  river  was  dammed  by  a solid  stone  wall,  thirteen  feet 
in  thickness  and  coated  with  cement  that  became  as  hard 
as  rock.  In  the  center  was  a gate-way  twelve  feet  high  and 
lined  with  brick.  The  dam  was  standing  as  late  as  1874, 
though  the  water  had  washed  out  a channel  at  one  end,  and. 
the  sand  left  but  a few  feet  of  the  height  of  the  structure 
visible.  From  this  dam  an  aqueduct  constructed  of  tiles, 
resting  on  cobblestones  in  cement,  and  carrying  a stream  one 
foot  deep  and  two  feet  wide  to  the  mission  lands  was  built 
through  a precipitous  gorge,  impassable  on  horseback.  The 
aqueduct  often  crossed  gulches  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet 
wide  and  deep,  and  was  so  strong  that  in  places  it  supported 
itself  after  the  foundations  were  removed.” 

“There  is  nothing  more  remarkable  about  these  priestly 


California,  Vol.  ii,  pp.  104-106. 

is  2,010  bushels  of  all  kinds  of  grain  and  78  bushels  of  beans  were 
raised  in  1801  and  less  in  the  two  subsequent  years.  The  year  1809 
yielded  only  1,262  bushels. 


158  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

builders/’  says  William  E.  Smythe  in  his  History  of  San 
Diego,19  “than  the  versatility  of  their  talent  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  met  all  demands.  Thus  they  were  able  to 
supply  the  engineering  capacity  to  solve  the  problem  of  a 


SAN  DIEGO  MISSION  DAM 

permanent  water  supply.  They  went  ten  miles  up  the  val- 
ley, found  bedrock,  and  proceeded  to  build  a dam  of  solid 
masonry  across  the  river  bed,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 


19  Yol.  i,  pp.  64-65. 


Mission  San  Diego 


159 

four  feet  long  and  twelve  feet  thick.  The  remains  of  this 
work  are  still  in  existence  and  exhibit  a wall  fourteen  feet 
high,  as  seen  from  the  lower  side.  The  water  was  conducted 
by  means  of  well-built  ditches  and  a short  tunnel,  and  sup- 
plied the  mission  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  It  is  this 

achievement  which  gives  the  Mission  Fathers  a high  place 
in  the  history  of  irrigation,  and  the  remains  of  that  ancient 
dam  should  be  regarded  as  a hallowed  shrine  in  a land 

where  water  is  god  of  the  harvest.  . . It  seems  very  re- 
markable that  men  so  deeply  immersed  in  spiritual  concerns 
should  also  have  been  practical  men  of  affairs  and  capable 
executives.  Had  they  not  been  very  competent  in  both 
respects  they  would  have  failed  in  their  difficult  undertaking. 
This  very  unusual  combination  of  qualities  seems  to  have 
been  common  to  nearly  all  the  priests,  and  it  is  little  wonder 

that  they  obtained  the  confidence  of  the  Indians  to  a very 

large  degree  and  became  their  trusted  advisers  in  all  their 
trouble.” 

Important  building  was  done  about  this  time ; but  the 
Fathers  are  sparing  in  their  description  of  it.  “The  house 
of  the  Fathers  was  finished,  and  it  is  very  becoming,”  is  all 
that  is  to  be  found  in  the  official  report  made  on  December 
31,  1806,  by  Fathers  Barona  and  Sanchez.  Neither  the  time 
when  it  was  begun  nor  the  dimensions  are  given ; and  we 
are  made  to  suppose  that  the  walls  were  of  adobe  and  tfie 
roof  of  tiles.  In  addition,  they  remark  that  some  work 
was  done  at  the  old  buildings.  So  much  might  have  been 
told  in  connection  with  these  undertakings ; but  the  Fathers 
did  not  realize  of  what  a pleasure  they  were  depriving 
posterity.20 

The  erection  of  a house  of  God  is  surely  a highly  im- 
portant affair.  Still,  all  we  read  about  it  from  the  hand  of 
Fr.  Sanchez,  who,  as  if  by  the  way,  mentions  it  in  a letter 


20  In  this  year,  on  May  16,  1807,  Fr.  Presidente  Tapis  designated 
San  Diego  Mission  as  the  place  of  the  Retreat  for  the  Fathers  of  this 
and  the  neighboring  missions.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii. 
p.  630. 


160  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

to  Governor  Arrillaga,  dated  September  29,  1808,  is  the 
following:  “On  the  present  day  of  September  29,  1808,  the 

beginning  was  made  with  a church  at  this  mission.”  We  are 
thankful  that  the  date  at  least  is  given  exactly.  In  the 
official  annual  report  to  Fr.  Presidente,  Fathers  Barona 
and  Sanchez  only  say,  “Se  sigue  la  Iglesia  comenzada — 
The  church  begun  continues  building.” 

At  the  close  of  1810,  Fathers  Panto  and  Sanchez  write 
that  the  new  church  building  and  the  sacristy  and  ten  other 
houses  had  been  roofed,  and  that  other  buildings  were 
under  construction  or  repairs.  In  the  report  for  1811,  how- 
ever, they  give  information  that  the  roof  of  the  church,  which 
was  to  have  been  flat,  had  to  be  taken  down,  and  likewise 
almost  the  whole  front,  on  account  of  serious  cracks. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  earthquake  of  December  8, 
1812,  Fathers  Martin  and  Sanchez  say  in  their  report  of 
December  31,  1812,  “Thanks  be  to  God,  we  are  completing 
the  church  building,  and  we  expect  to  bless  it  in  the  coming 
year,  1813.”  They  were  fortunate  above  their  brethren  at 
San  Juan  Capistrano  where  the  terrible  earthquake  resulted 
most  disastrously. 

At  last  the  long  looked  for  day  arrived,  which  was  to 
witness  the  solemn  dedication  of  the  church,  of  which  but 
the  ruins  are  seen  at  the  present  time.  In  the  Baptismal 
Register,  after  the  entry  of  a Baptism,  number  4,070,  on 
November  7,  1813,  by  Fr.  Vicente  de  Sarria,  the  Comisario 
Prefecto  of  the  California  Missions,  who  held  the  visitation 
then,  the  event  is  recorded  in  the  following 

NOTA 

“On  November  12,  1813,  the  day  of  the  glorious  San 
Diego,  this  his  holy  church  was  blessed  with  all  the  appropri- 
ate formalities  and  solemnities.  The  Rev.  Fr.  Jose  Barona 
officiated  at  said  function,  he  being  the  missionary  of  the 
mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  He  blessed  the  edifice 
and  celebrated  the  High  Mass  on  said  day.  The  first  ser- 
mon for  the  solemnity  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Fr. 
Geronimo  Boscana,  missionary  of  Mission  San  Luis  Rey  de 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 6 1 


Francia;  and  the  second  sermon,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
translation  of  the  bodies  of  the  Rev.  Missionaries  who  had 
served  as  missionaries  and  died  here,  was  preached  by  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Thomas  Ahumada,  Dominican  Father  and  mis- 
sionary of  Mission  San  Miguel,  Lower  California.  Don 
Francisco  Maria  Ruiz,  lieutenant  of  cavalry  and  commander 
of  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,  served  as  sponsor  at  the 
dedication,  the  resident  missionaries  of  said  mission  being 
Fathers  Jose  Sanchez  and  Fernando  Martin.”  This  entry 
was  made  by  Fr.  Boscana. 

In  this  connection  a curious  specimen  of  sectarian  gulli- 
bility should  not  be  overlooked.  It  is  retailed  by  Smythe  as 
follows : 

There  is  a tradition  of  unusual  interest  concerning  the  building  of 
the  San  Diego  Mission,  which  is  related  as  follows  in  the  San  Diego 
Weekly  Union  of  September  24,  1878: 

From  an  old  woman  now  living  near  San  Luis  Rey,  named  Josefa 
Peters,  and  whom  we  believe  to  be  at  least  124  years  of  age,  Mr. 
W.  B.  Couts  learned  that  the  timber  for  the  mission  came  from 
Smith ’s  Mountain,  at  least  sixty  miles  inland  from  this  city.  The 
old  lady  says  that  after  the  timbers  had  all  been  nicely  hewed  and 
prepared,  and  blessed  by  the  priests  on  the  mountain,  on  a certain 
day  a vast  number  of  the  stoutest  Indians  were  collected  and  stationed 
in  relays  of  about  a mile  apart,  all  the  way  from  the  summit  of  the 

mountain  to  the  foundations  of  the  mission  buildings  in  the  valley 

near  this  city.  At  a given  signal  the  timbers  were  sprinkled  by  the 
assembled  priests  on  the  mountain,  and  were  then  hoisted  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  Indians,  and  were  thus  carried  to  the  first  relays 

and  changed  to  their  shoulders,  and  so  on,  all  the  way  to  San  Diego, 

without  touching  the  ground;  as  it  was  considered  sacrilege  to  have 
one  of  them  touch  the  ground  from  the  time  of  starting  until  it 
arrived  at  its  final  destination  in  the  Church.  As  there  are  an  immense 
number  of  these  timbers,  it  shows  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  the  Indians 
at  that  date,  and  their  obedience  to  the  Reverend  Fathers.21 

This  ridiculous  dream  of  an  old  Indian  woman  would 
scarcely  need  comment  or  denial.  It  is  too  stupid  to  be 
considered  seriously,  notwithstanding  that  W.  B.  Couts 
stands  sponsor  for  it.  Indians  are  imaginative,  and  for 
that  reason  those  who  know  them  will  endeavor  to  secure 


21  Smythe,  History  of  San  Diego,  vol.  i,  p.  64. 


162  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

corroboration  from  at  least  half  a dozen  sober  ones  on  any 
subject  of  their  own  invention.  But  to  rely  on  stories  of 
Indian  women  in  their -second  childhood  is  the  limit  of  folly. 
If  Smythe  had  known  a little  something  of  Catholic  practices, 
he  would  not  have  included  calumnies,  let  alone  old  wives' 
tales.  We  would  advise  all  who  want  to  speak  or  write 
about  Catholic  customs  and  practices,  to  have  the  ordinary 
decency  to  inquire  of  some  one  who  is  in  a position  to  know 
them.  Often  they  need  go  no  farther  than  the  nearest  desk. 
At  all  events,  Catholic  customs  and  regulations  are  always 
in  keeping  with  reason  and  common  sense. 

The  timbers  for  the  church  were  certainly  brought  from 
a distance,  because  there  was  and  is  no  suitable  building 
material  near  the  mission.  They  were  not  hewn  and  blessed 
in  the  woods,  but  down  at  the  mission.  Nor  were  they 
brought  down  on  the  shoulders  of  unhappy  Indians  for  a 
distance  of  sixty  miles,  not  even  of  sixty  yards,  but  they 
were  hauled  to  the  mission  by  oxen.  Nor  was  it  considered 
a sacrilege  for  a piece  of  blessed  timber  to  touch  the  ground. 
It  was  not  blessed  at  all  until  it  occupied  its  place  in  the 
building,  and  then  the  blessing  of  the  whole  edifice  took 
place.  A priest  who  would  have  subjected  the  Indians  to 
such  folly  as  is  related  by  Snathe,  would  have  been  sent 
back  to  Mexico  as  a lunatic.  Not  even  in  his  lunacy 
would  he  have  conceived  of  such  a silly  plan.  How  gullible 
some  people  are,  even  so-called  historians ! 

Fr.  Pedro  Panto  who  had  seen  the  sacred  edifice  rise,  did 
not  live  to  witness  its  solemn  dedication ; for  he  died  in  the 
preceding  year.  The  entry  made  by  Fr.  Geronimo  Boscana 
reads  as  follows:  “Number  2,143.  On  July  2,  1812,  with 

the  assistance  of  Fr.  Thomas  Ahumada,  Dominican,  I gave 
ecclesiastical  burial  in  the  church  of  this  Mission  of  San 
Diego  to  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Pedro  Panto,  deceased  mis- 
sionary of  said  Mission,  member  of  the  holy  Province  of 
San  Miguel,  and  a native  of  Valverde  del  Fresno.  Before 
his  death  he  received  the  Sacraments  of  Penance  and  Extreme 
Unction.  He  could  not  receive  the  holy  Viaticum.  He  passed 
away  on  June  30,  at  7 p.m.  He  died,  according  to  opinions, 


Mission  San  Diego  163 

from  poisoning  at  the  hands  of  the  cook.  In  testimony 
thereof  I sign,  Fr.  Geronimo  Boscana.” 

Fr.  Panto  lfad  made  his  last  entry,  number  2,140,  in  the 
Death  Register,  on  June  26,  1812.  In  the  Baptismal 

Register  his  name  appears  for  the  last  time  on  June  21. 
1812,  number  3,946,  only  nine  days  before  his  death. 

The  poisoning  had  occurred  seven  months  before  and  an 
attack  of  violent  vomiting  appears  to  have  brought  on  a 
lingering  disease  from  which  the  good  Father  finally  died. 
At  the  time,  the  act  being  a capital  crime,  the  military 
officials  took  cognizance  of  the  case.  Suspicion  at  once 
fell  on  Indian  Nazario,  the  Father’s  cook,  who  on  examina- 
tion acknowledged  his  guilt.  It  would  seem  that  Fr.  Panto, 
who  like  Fr.  Jaume  wanted  no  revenge  but  conver- 
sion, declined  to  prosecute  or  even  to  testify  against  the 
culprit,  whereupon  Domingo  Carrillo,  whom  the  acting 
comandante  of  the  presidio,  Don  Ignacio  Martinez,  had 
appointed  prosecutor,  addressed  himself  to  Fr.  Estevan  Tapis, 
the  Fr.  Presidente  of  the  missions.  In  reply  the  Fr.  Presi- 
dente  wrote  as  follows : 

“By  official  note  of  the  21  instant,  you  ask  me  to  con- 
cede my  permission  to  the  Rev.  Fr.  Pedro  Panto,  so  that 
he  may  give  his  declaration  in  the  investigation  which 
Alferez  Don  Ignacio  Martinez  of  the  presidio  of  San  Diego 
has  committed  to  you  regarding  the  arrangement  for  trial  of 
the  Indian  neophyte  called  Nazario,  the  cook  of  the  Rev. 
Missionary  Fathers,  for  having  put  poison  or  poisonous 
herbs  into  the  soup  of  said  Fr.  Panto  in  the  evening  of 
Saturday,  the  16  instant. 

“While  I protest  that  I do  not  desire  in  any  manner  what- 
ever that  from  my  permission  or  from  the  declaration  of 
the  Rev.  Fr.  Pedro  Panto  any  capital  punishment  befall 
any  person,  I in  virtue  of  this  allow  the  said  Religious, 
after  making  the  same  protest,  to  give  the  necessary  declara- 
tion in  order  that  precautionary  steps  be  taken  to  prevent, 
as  far  as  possible,  similar  attempts  against  his  person  or 


164  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

against  others  in  the  future.  Mission  Purisima  Concepcion, 
November  27,  1811,  Fr.  Estevan  Tapis. — Domingo  Carillo.” 22 

It  will  be  observed  that  Fr.  Tapis,  who  knew  the  value  of 
Indian  complaints  or  statements,  took  the  matter  very  coolly. 
In  this  spirit,  too,  the  charges  of  the  neophyte  must  be 
judged.  Only  a few  years  previously,  Governor  Arrillaga, 
reporting  to  Mexico  as  to  the  charges  of  cruelty  -on  the 
part  of  the  missionaries,  wrote,  “The  Friars  on  the  whole  are 
sensible  and  honest  men,  and  the  natives  are  as  a rule 
well  treated.  Slight  defects  and  excesses  are  sufficiently 
guarded  against  by  Franciscan  and  ecclesiastical  regulations 
which  render  secular  interference  on  account  of  a few 
isolated  complaints  inadvisable.”  23 

The  Indian  confessed  that  he  had  poisoned  the  soup  out 
of  revenge,  because  from  the  Father  he  had  received  in 
succession  fifty,  twenty-five,  twenty-four,  and  twenty-five 
lashes  in  the  twenty-four  hours  preceding  the  attempted 
crime,  as  Bancroft24  has  it,  which  of  course  is  too  absurd  to 
need  disproval.  Elsewhere  in  the  report  he  claimed  he  had 
received  two  hundred  lashes. 

Nevertheless,  Sergeant  Jose  Maria  Pico,  who  acted  as 
defender,  held  the  remarkable  opinion  that  Nazario’s  crime 
was  justifiable  on  account  of  Fr.  Panto's  cruelty,  which  was 
not  proved.  Inasmuch  as  the  poisonous  dose  had  not  been 
fatal,  but  rather  because  with  those  Indians  another  stand- 
ard had  to  be  employed,  as  the  Fathers  themselves  always 
excused  them  as  people  but  half-witted,  Domingo  Carrillo 
insisted  that  a penalty  of  eight  months’  labor  in  the  presidio 
should  be  imposed  as  a warning  to  others.  It  is  not  known 
whether  the  sentence  was  carried  out,  but  doubtless  it  was. 
This  same  Jose  Maria  Pico  with  several  soldiers  was  arrested 
for  plotting  a revolt  for  the  seizure  of  the  military  post. 
Three  of  the  soldiers  died  in  prison.  Such  is  the  assertion 


22  Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  Ben.  MU.,  xlix,  104,  105. 

23  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ii,  pp.  581-582. 

24  Vol.  ii,  p.  345. 


Mission  San  Diego 


65 


of  Pio  Pico  in  his  Historian  Only  two  years  before, 
Estudillo  wrote  that  the  missionaries  treated  the  neophytes 
like  their  own  children,  correcting  them  with  words  and 
for  serious  offenses  with  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  lashes 
applied  but  once  for  any  misdeed,  a regulation  no  missionary 
would  dare  to  disregard,  even  if  the  Fathers  had  been  the 
characters  their  enemies  desire  to  paint  them. 

After  completing  the  church  and  vestry,  Fathers  Sanchez 
and  Martin  went  to  work  at  another  much  greater  and 
more  difficult  undertaking.  As  briefly  as  ever  they  introduce 
the  herculean  task  with  these  words : " We  are  working  at 

an  aqueduct,  which  is  to  bring  water  to  the  mission.  We 
hope  it  may  succeed  with  the  help  of  God,  for  the  worst  diffi- 
culties have  already  been  overcome.”  This  statement  was 
made  in  the  annual  report  of  December  31,  1813.  In  the 
next  Informe  of  December  31,  1814,  the  Fathers  say,  “Work 
on  the  aqueduct  is  progressing;  already  as  many  as  6,600 
varas  have  been  completed.”  That  would  be  equivalent  to 
three  and  a half  miles.  Let  the  reader  remember  what 
Smythe  says  of  it  which  agrees  with  our  own  observations 
made  as  late  as  1904. 

The  year  1815  saw  another  infirmary  go  up,  which  is 
proof  that  the  Fathers  were  solicitous  for  every  need  of 
their  flock.  Also  work  on  the  aqueduct  was  continued 
during  this  and  the  next  year.  In  1816,  the  infirmary  was 
completed.  That  same  year  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  drew 
up  an  inventory  of  the  articles  contained  in  the  church 
and  sacristy.  At  the  close,  immediately  preceding  his 
signature,  is  a note,  saying,  “Under  the  niche  of  our  Father 
Saint  Francis  is  deposited  the  offering  which  Don  Josef 
Fons,  Captain  of  the  company  of  Catalonian  volunteers, 
made.”  26  The  document  is  dated  July  19,  1816. 

Nothing  more  is  noted  regarding  the  Z anja  or  aqueduct 


25  Pp.  3-4,  according  to  Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  pp.  344. 

26  ‘ 1 Deba  jo  del  nicho  de  Nro.  P.  S.  Francisco  esta  depositada  la 
oferta  que  did  Don  Josef  Fons,  Capitan  Graduado  de  la  Compania 
de  los  Voluntarios  de  Cataluna.  ” 


DOUBLE  WELL  OE  BRICK  AND  MASONRY  USED  FOR  IRRIGATION 


Mission  San  Diego 


167 

after  1816.  The  only  statement  regarding  building  affairs 
occurs  in  the  report  of  1820.  In  this  year  new  granaries 
were  erected  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  ones.  Similarly,  the 
Fathers  had  to  confine  themselves  to  keeping  things  in  repair 
from  year  to  year. 

With  the  year  1820  the  Fathers  became  particular  about 
reporting  what  was  procured  for  the  interior  of  the  church. 
For  instance,  on  December  31,  ten  new  rochets,  cassocks  for 
the  altar  boys,  and  some  corporals  were  added  to  the  supply 
in  the  sacristy.  Subsequent  additions  were 

In  1823,  five  new  albs,  three  corporals,  three  amices,  two 
surplices,  seven  purificators,  seven  finger  towels ; 

In  1824,  five  new  albs,  two  corporals,  four  amices,  two 
purificators,  four  finger  towels,  one  cincture ; 

In  1825,  six  new  albs,  two  manteles , two  amices,  one  cinc- 
ture, one  carpet; 

In  1826,  one  new  red  chasuble,  three  albs,  four  amices, 
seven  towels,  one  white  terno; 

In  1827,  one  black  cop'e,  one  white  antependium,  a piece 
of  shoulder  cloth — pano  de  ombros; 

In  1830,  one  red  cope,  four  manteles; 

In  1831,  twelve  new  altar  cloths. 

No  further  mention  of  church  articles  is  made.  Implements 
also  were  procured  from  year  to  year  to  replace  worn  out 
material.  Exact  reports  were  made  on  the  spiritual  affairs, 
and  on  the  live  stock  and  the  yield  of  the  fields,  all  of 
which  will  be  found  in  tabulated  form  later. 

There  is  little  else  to  be  noted  during  the  decade,  save 
one  important  undertaking.  While  continuing  their  daily 
mission  routine,  the  zealous  Fathers  at  the  same  time  en- 
deavored to  include  in  their  great  family  the  Indians  of  the 
sierra  district.  Numerous  applications  came  from  these 
for  admission  into  the  fold.  These  Indians  were  instructed 
as  well  as  possible,  put  on  probation,  and  then  baptized. 
But  the  missionaries  did  not  insist  that  they  live  at  the 
mission  because  the  establishment  could  not  support  them 
and  because  the  converts  seemed  to  belong  to  a less  low 


1 68  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


class  of  savages.  At  a very  early  date  converts  were  gained 
from  a district  called  Santa  Isabel.  In  order  to  facilitate 
conversions  in  that  region,  the  Fathers  desired  to  establish  an 
assistencia  or  sub-mission  there.  But  this  could  not  be  done 
without  the  governor’s  permit ; for,  under  the  unfortunate 
system  in  vogue  in  the  Spanish  dominions,  the  ministers  of 
Religion  had  more  to  consult  than  the  needs  of  the  people. 
When  it  came  to  forming  a little  parish  or  a new  mission,  or 
when  a house  of  worship  was  to  be  erected,  even  if  it  was 
to  cost  the  government  nothing,  as  was  the  case  in  California, 
the  secular  authorities  had  to  be  petitioned,  and  these  very 
frequently  looked  to  other  motives  than  the  needs  of  the 
people.  A long  time  might  elapse  before  the  permit  would 
be  granted.  Such  was  the  case  with  regard  to  the  petition 
which  the  Fathers  of  San  Diego,  encouraged  by  the  Father 
Prefecto  during  his  visit  in  August,  1816,  addressed  to 
Governor  Sola,  on  October  12,  and  December  19,  1816.  At 
the  next  visit  of  the  Fr.  Prefecto,  two  years  later,  on  July 
23,  1818,  no  progress  had  as  yet  been  made  toward  accom- 
plishing the  plan  so  much  desired  by  the  missionaries  and  the 
Indians  as  well.  Once  more,  on  October  13,  1818,  Fr. 
Sanchez  petitioned  the  governor  for  the  permit  to  erect 
a chapel  for  the  230  Indians  at  Santa  Isabel.27  But  in  vain. 
Then  Fr.  Sarria  in  person  but  with  no  better  success 
approached  Sola  on  the  subject,  as  we  find  in  the  following 
communication  to  Fr.  Payeras : 

In  the  place  called  Santa  Isabel,  toward  the  sierra,  they  count  a 
goodly  number  of  baptized  souls,  about  two  hundred,  and  there  are 
prospects  of  more  conversions.  It  is  a place  visited  every  fifteen 
days  by  the  Fathers,  who  have  for  more  than  a year  been  desirous 
of  erecting  a chapel  there.  For  the  present  I have  determined  nothing 
on  account  of  some  impediments  which  remain  to  be  looked  after; 
but  having  in  the  last  year  seen  that  neither  all  nor  many  of  the 
Indians  could  come  to  the  mission,  I told  the  Fathers  to  go  there 
occasionally  and  to  celebrate  holy  Mass  on  a portable  altar,  even 
though  in  consequence  the  presidio  might  lose  holy  Mass  on  a feast 
day.  This  they  have  done  sometimes,  and,  as  I understand,  with  much 


27  Archb.  Arch.,  nos.  523,  843. 


Mission  San  Diego 


169 


fruit.  I also  asked  the  governor  for  a permit  for  the  formal  erection 
of  a chapel,  but  he  manifested  some  repugnance  to  the  petition.  Then 
he  told  me  he  would  ask  for  information  from  the  commander  of  the 
San  Diego  presidio.  Thus  far  the  matter  has  proceeded,  and  I was 
expecting  him  to  speak  to  me  about  it.  San  Carlos,  February  2, 
1819.28 

Meanwhile  the  two  Fathers  at  the  mission  resolved  to  take 
the  matter  into  their  own  hands,  as  we  see  from  the 
Baptismal  Record.  “On  September  20,  1818/’  Fr.  Fernando 
Martin  writes,  “in  the  Rancho  Elcuanam,  where  a beginning 
is  being  made  for  a new  foundation  (mission),  the  site 
having  been  blessed  which  will  have  to  serve  for  a chapel  in 
the  future,  after  celebrating  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass,  I 
baptized  solemnly,  using  water  which  I took  from  the 
Baptismal  font  of  this  church  of  San  Diego  and  administering 
also  the  holy  Oils,  the  following  children  and  adults,  after 
they  had  been  instructed  as  well  as  possible  during  a period 
of  fourteen  days.”  The  newly  baptized  appear  under  num- 
bers 4,274-4,392.  Some  of  them  were  from  San  Felipe  or 
Teguila. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  the  same  month,  Fr.  Sanchez,  at 
the  same  place  where  Fr.  Martin  had  baptized  three  days 
before,  administered  Baptism  to  thirty-two  male  and  female 
adults.  This  seems  to  show  that  the  Fathers  had  decided 
to  put  up  at  least  a temporary  chapel,  until  the  governor 
should  authorize  a permanent  building.  Before  these  dates, 
save  in  case  of  necessity  or  in  articulo  mortis  of  a petitioner, 
the  Fathers  had  baptized  a great  many  from  Santa  Isabel  and 
from  San  Felipe,  but  always  at  the  mission.  Sunday,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1818,  may  therefore  be  celebrated  as  the  day  on 
which  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  founded  the  Santa  Isabel  chapel 
and  a,ssistencia.  Fr.  Sanchez,  who  had  remained  at  the 
mission  for  the  Sunday,  came  up  for  the  twenty-third  which 
was  a Wednesday,  to  complete  the  festivities.  Thenceforth 
Baptisms  from  that  place  were  always  entered  in  these  terms. 
“In  the  Chapel  of  the  place  called  Santa  Isabel  by  us  and 


28  Sta.  Barb.  Arch,  and  Mission  Register. 


170  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Elcuanam  by  the  natives,  with  water  which  I took  from  the 
Font  of  this  church  of  San  Diego,  etc.,”  as  Fr.  .Sanchez, 
for  instance,  writes  on  September  7,  1819,  and  again  on 
January  25,  1820. 

A permanent  chapel  was  eventually  erected,  but  the  date 
is  not  known.  In  1822,  it  was  reported  that  the  assistencia 
of  Santa  Isabel  comprised  a chapel,  a granary,  several 
houses,  a cemetery,  and  an  Indian  population  of  450 
neophytes. 

A writer  in  the  Land  of  Sunshine  notes  the  fate  of  Santa 
Isabel  thus : “Far  in  the  ‘back  country,’  sixty  miles  or  so 
from  San  Diego,  in  a region  untrodden  by  the  tourist,  are 
the  ruins  of  the  Mission  of  Santa  Ysabel.29  Leveled  by  time 
and  washed  by  winter  rains,  the  adobe  walls  of  the  church 
have  sunk  into  indistinguishable  heaps  of  earth  which  vaguely 
define  the  outlines  of  the  ancient  edifice. 

“The  bells  remain,  hung  no  longer  in  a belfry  but  on  a 
rude  framework  of  logs.  A tall  cross  made  of  two  saplings 
nailed  in  shape  marks  the  consecrated  spot.  Beyond  it  rise 
the  walls  of  the  brush  building,  ramada,  woven  of  green 
wattled  boughs,  which  does  duty  for  a church  on  Sundays 
and  on  the  rare  occasions  of  a visit  from  the  priest  who 
makes  a yearly  pilgrimage  to  these  outlying  portions  of  his 
parish.  On  Sunday,  the  general  of  the  tribe  acts  as  lay 
reader  and  recites  the  services.  Then  and  on  Saturday 
nights,  the  bells  are  rung.  One  bears  the  date  1723,  the 
other  1767.  A bullet  hole  in  the  side  of  one  of  them  com- 
memorates equally  the  accuracy  of  the  aim  and  the  sacrile- 
gious motive  of  some  forgotten  soldier. 

“Opposite  the  church  is  the  cemetery,  a small  enclosure 
carefully  guarded  from  intrusion  by  a tall  picket  fence. 
A bare  wooden  cross  rises  in  the  center,  and  at  the  head  of 
each  little  mound  formed  of  the  dry  sun-baked  earth,  a 
small  cross  is  placed,  emblem  of  a hope  beyond  this  world 
of  unrighted  wrongs.”  30 


20  Santa  Isabel  was  only  a mission  station  of  San  Diego. 
30  Yol.  xi,  November,  1899,  pp.  318-319. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Vancouver  Arrives. — His  Observations. — Fr.  Lasuen. — The  Soldiers. — 
Labor  not  Dishonorable. — The  Presidio. — Fort  at  Point  Guijarros. — 
Death  of  Lt.  Grajera. — Presidio  Force. — Population. — Officials. — 
Dispensation  from  Abstinence. — Interrogatorio  y Respuesta. — Char- 
acter and  Habits  of  the  Indians. — Murders. — Punishments. — Horse- 
stealing.— Its  Punishments. — Methods  True  and  False  for  Securing 
Converts. — Smythe’s  Foolish  Charge. — Unjust  Demands  on  the  Mis- 
sions.— More  Absurdities  from  Smythe. — The  Franciscans. — More 
Demands  on  the  Mission. — Crops. — Population. — Contributions  Ap- 
portioned. 

DOWN  at  the  presidio  and  town  of  San  Diego,  Lieutenant 
Jose  de  Zuniga  had  meanwhile,  in  May,  1792,  been 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain  of  infantry  and  placed  in 
charge  of  the  Presidio  of  Tucson,  Sonora,  now  Arizona. 
In  October,  1793,  Lieutenant  Antonio  Grajera  succeeded  him. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  English  navigator  Captain 
George  Vancouver  with  the  British  sloop  of  war  Discovery 
appeared  in  the  harbor  and  created  a stir  in  the  sleepy 
settlement. 

“About  two  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  November 
27,  1793,”  he  writes,  “we  anchored  in  ten  fathoms  of  water, 
fine  sandy  bottom,  at  the  usual  place  of  anchorage  in  the 
harbor.  . . . Punta  de  Guiranos  (Guijarros,  a low  spit 

of  land,  projecting  from  the  high  steep  cliffs  within  the 
former,  and  which,  properly  speaking,  constitutes  the  west 
point  of  the  entrance  into  the  port.  . . . The  presidio 

of  San  Diego  bore  N.  21  E.,  distant  three  miles  and  a half, 
and  the  nearest  shore  northwest,  within  a quarter  of  a mile 
of  our  anchorage.”  After  visiting  the  officials  at  the  pre- 
sidio and  after  taking  wood  and  fresh  water  on  board,  Van- 
couver prepared  to  depart  on  Saturday,  December  7;  but 
“the  wind  coming  from  the  south,”  he  relates,  “prevented 
our  sailing  the  next  day  as  I intended,  but  I did  not  regret 
the  detention,  as  it  afforded  me  the  pleasure  of  a visit 


172  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

from  our  very  highly  esteemed  and  venerable  friend,  the 
Fr.  Presidente  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Franciscan  Order 
in  this  country,  who  was  then  on  a visitation  to  the  several 
missions  between  San  Francisco  and  this  port,  where  he  had 
arrived  the  preceding  evening  from  San  Juan  Capistrano. 
He  expressed  much  concern  that  our  departure  was  so  near 
at  hand,  since  the  great  fertility  of  San  Juan  Capistrano’s 
would  have  enabled  him  to  add  abundantly  to  our  stock  of 
refreshments.  I had  great  difficulty  to  prevail  on  the  Father 
President  to  desist  from  sending  to  San  Juan’s  for  the  sup- 
plies he  had  proposed,  as  in  all  probability  we  should  have 
sailed  before  they  could  have  arrived. 

“The  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  this  worthy  character 
was  of  short  duration;  it  however  afforded  me  the  satisfac- 
tion of  personally  acknowledging  the  obligation  we  were 
under  for  the  friendly  services  that  had  been  conferred 
upon  us  by  the  missionaries  under  his  immediate  direction 
and  government;  being  perfectly  assured  that  however  well 
disposed  the  several  individuals  might  have  been  to  have 
shown  the  kind  attention  we  had  received,  the  cordial  in- 
terest with  which  the  Father  President  had,  on  all  occa- 
sions, so  warmly  espoused  our  interests,  must  have  been 
of  no  small  importance  to  our  comfort.  This  considera- 
tion, in  addition  to  the  esteem  I had  conceived  for  his 
character,  induced  me  to  solicit  his  acceptance  of  a hand- 
some barelled  organ,  which,  notwithstanding  the  vicissitudes 
of  climate,  was  still  in  complete  order  and  repair.  This 
was  received  with,  great  pleasure,  and  abundant  thanks,  and 
was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  use  and  ornament  of  the  new 
church  at  the  presidency  of  the  mission  of  San  Carlos. 

“The  Mission  (of  San  Diego)  is  not  conspicuous  from 
the  situation,”  Vancouver  remarks,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
visit  in  December,  1794,  “nor  does  it  command  an  exten- 
sive prospect.”  1 

There  is  no  record  of  any  agricultural  operations  what- 


1 Voyage  of  Discovery,  vol.  ii,  pp.  471-472. 


Mission  San  Diego 


173 


ever  at  or  near  the  presidio  outside  the  mission,  Bancroft 
tells  us,  nor  were  there  any  private  ranchos  in  the  whole 
region  before  1800.2  Vancouver  essays  an  explanation. 
“The  military,”  he  declares,  “do  nothing,  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  expression ; for  they  neither  till,  sow,  nor  reap, 
but  wholly  depend  on  the  labor  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
missions  and  pueblos  for  their  subsistence,  and  the  common 
necessaries  of  life.  To  reconcile  this  inactivity  whilst  they 
remain  on  duty  in  the  presidio,  with  the  meritorious  exer- 
tions that  the  same  description  of  people  are  seen  to  make 
in  the  pueblos,  is  certainly  a very  difficult  task;  and  the 
contradiction  would  have  remained  very  prejudicial  to  their 
character,  had  I not  been  informed  that  to  support  the  con- 
sequence of  the  soldier  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives,  and  to 
insure  him  their  respect,  it  had  been  deemed  highly  improper 
that  he  should  be  subjected  to  any  laborious  employment. 
This  circumstance  alone  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
habitual  indolence  and  want  of  industry  in  the  military  part 
of  the  societies.”  3 

The  excuse  offered  was  only  a pretext  to  cover  the  in- 
veterate laziness  of  the  Mexican  soldiers,  who  were  recruited 
to  a large  extent  from  the  scum  of  Mexican  society  and 
from  convicts.  The  missionaries,  men  of  learning,  and  fre- 
quently of  noble  blood,  did  manual  labor  of  every  kind;  yet 
in  no  way  did  they  suffer  in  the  esteem  of  the  Indians. 
On  the  contrary,  they  endeared  themselves  to  the  Indians, 
besides  setting  them  an  example  of  industry.  Because  of 
the  lack  of  useful  employment,  time  hung  heavy  on  the 
hands  of  the  soldiers,  and  this  naturally  bred  mischief.  Here 
lies  the  secret  of  much  of  the  hostility  the  missionaries  and 
their  wards  encountered  on  the  part  of  the  military.  While 
the  mother  country  provided  the  soldiers  with  food  and 
clothing,  the  troubles  were  not  so  poignant ; but,  when  with 
the  year  1812  supplies  failed  to  come  from  Mexico,  on 


2 History  of  California,  vol.  i,  p.  648. 

s Vancouver,  Voyage,  vol.  ii,  pp.  496. 


174  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

account  of  the  ill-fated  and  ill-advised  revolt  of  Hidalgo,  a 
veritable  martyrdom  began  for  the  Franciscans  and  their 
neophytes,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  third  and  fourth  volumes 
of  the  General  History.  No,  it  was  not  that  the  soldiers 
would  have  lost  the  esteem  of  the  Indians  by  using  their 
spare  time  in  cultivating  gardens  and  raising  stock  with  a 
view  to  have  something  for  a rainy  day,  or  to  support  them- 
selves independently  of  the  poor  Indians,  but  because,  worse 
than  the  savages,  the  soldiers  disdained  to  work.  Here  we 
must  except  the  Catalonian  Volunteers,  however,  who  were 
Spaniards  with  a good  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things.  As 
a sample,  it  may  be  noted  here  that  in  1796,  at  the  request 
of  Governor  Borica,  Comandante  Grajera  in  vain  tried  to 
induce  the  Mexican  youths  at  San  Diego  to  learn  trades ; 
some  of  them  deemed  the  mere  request  an  insult.4  The 
comandante  was  ordered  to  call  together  parents  who  had 
objected  to  having  their  sons  apprenticed  to  mechanical 
occupations.  He  was  directed  to  tell  them  that  they  were 
acting  against  their  own  interests;  that  it  was  plainly  ad- 
vantageous for  the  youths  to  be  enabled  to  support  them- 
selves by  honest  labor  and  that  in  the  meantime  they  should 
be  kindly  treated,  well  fed  and  clothed,  and  given  a regular 
education.  Borica  then  ordered  a list  of  boys  between  the 
ages  of  seven  and  eighteen  to  be  forwarded  to  him  at 
Monterey.5 

Unfortunately,  the  soldiers  themselves  were  not  compelled 
by  the  governor  to  be  usefully  occupied.  When  parents 
and  children  alike  grew  up  idlers,  it  was  easy  to  guess  what 
the  consequences  would  be.  No  wonder  the  troubles  of  the 
missionaries  were  immensely  augmented  by  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  idle,  shiftless,  vicious,  gambling,  and  frequently 
drunken  whites,  who  should  have  been  an  example  to  the 
Indians. 


4 Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  St.  Pap.,  xiv,  p.  16,  as  per  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  p.  652. 

s Cal.  Arch.,  Prov.  Eecords,  v,  400-407.  See  Missions  and  Mission- 
aries, vol.  ii,  p.  475. 


Mission  San  Diego  175 

However,  from  900  to  1,200  head  of  live  stock  were  kept, 
including  the  military  company’s  horses  and  mules.  Though 
this  entailed  little  manual  labor,  it  afforded  the  youths  and 
adults  opportunities  for  enjoying  themselves  on  horseback, 
and  provided  them  with  flesh  meat,  at  least.  Each  year,  in 
Mexico,  an  appropriation  was  made  from  the  royal  treasury 
for  presidio  expenses,  which  varied  from  $14,000  to  $15,000. 
For  this  amount  goods  with  a small  amount  of  coin  were 
sent  by  means  of  the  transports  that  plied  between  San 
Diego  and  San  Bias.  The  Catalonian  Volunteers  and  the 
artillery  men,  mentioned  before,  here  and  at  other  presidios, 
received  supplies  to  the  value  of  $15,000  a year,  of  which 
about  one-third  went  to  the  men  stationed  at  San  Diego 
till  1803.  Supplies  for  them  were  also  obtained  from  the 
missions  during  the  three  last  years  of  the  century,  for 
which  the  presidio  was  indebted  to  them  for  about  $10,000.® 

“The  Presidio  of  San  Diego,”  says  Vancouver,  “seemed 
to  be  the  least  of  the  Spanish  settlements.  It  is  irregularly 
built,  on  very  uneven  ground.  . . . The  situation  of  it 

is  dreary  and  lonesome,  in  the  midst  of  a barren,  unculti- 
vated country,  producing  so  little  herbage,  that  excepting 
in  the  spring  months,  their  cattle  are  sent  to  the  distance 
of  twenty  or  thirty  miles  for  pasturage.  . . . This  in- 

terior country,  although  more  productive  in  point  of  grass, 
is  not  very  prolific  in  grain,  pulse,  fruits,  roots,  or  other 
culinary  vegetables.  I understood  that  they  are  frequently 
obliged  to  resort  for  supply  of  these  articles  to  the  Mission 
of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  which  abounded  in  vegetables  and 
animal  productions,  consisting  of  great  herds  of  cattle,  flocks 
of  sheep  and  goats ; and  I was  assured  that  it  was  one  of 
the  most  fertile  establishments  in  the  country.  . . . With 

little  difficulty  the  presidio  might  be  rendered  a place  of  con- 
siderable strength,  by  establishing  a small  force  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  port  where  at  this  time  there  were  neither 
works,  guns,  houses,  or  other  habitations  nearer  than  the 


6 Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  648-649. 


176  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

presidio  which  is  at  the  distance  of  at  least  five  miles  from 
the  port,  and  where  they  have  only  three  small  pieces  of 
brass  cannon.”  7 

The  defect  noticed  by  Vancouver  was  remedied  in  1795 
when  Point  Guijarros,  Cobblestone  Point,  was  selected  as 
the  site  of  a fort.  Preparations  were  at  once  begun.  Two 
or  three  laborers  and  the  necessary  timber  went  down  by 
sea  from  Monterey.  Santa  Barbara  furnished  the  axletrees 
and  wheels  for  ten  carts,  while  bricks  and  tiles  were  hauled 
from  the  presidio  to  the  beach  and  taken  across  to  the  point 
in  a flatboat.  Before  March,  1797,  $9,020  had  been  ex- 
pended. Nothing  more  is  known  of  the  extent  of  the  work; 
but  by  the  year  1803  it  seiwed  its  purpose  very  well ; for 
in  that  year  the  Lelia  Byrd,  an  American  smuggler,  in  at- 
tempting to  pass  the  point  was  nearly  sunk  by  the  balls 
discharged  at  her  under  command  of  Corporal  Jose  Velas- 
quez. A project  to  open  a road  round  the  bay  to  connect 
Point  Guijarros  with  the  presidio  was  under  consideration 
in  1798. 8 

Vancouver,  the  English  navigator,  named  the  point  oppo- 
site Ballast  Point,  at  the  entrance  to  San  Diego,  Zuniga 
Point  in  honor  of  its  former  commander.  Zuniga  Shoals, 
however,  “abreast  the  eastern  side  of  Point  Loma,  and 
parallel  therewith,  at  a distance  of  two-thirds  of  a mile,” 
was  so  named  by  Sebastian  Viscaino  in  1602  for  Viceroy 
Zuniga,  Count  of  Monterey.9 

By  the  year  1799,  Lieutenant  Antonio  Graj  era’s  excessive 
use  of  liquors  had  rendered  him  unfit  for  service.  Having 
obtained  leave  of  absence  to  visit  Mexico,  he  sailed  away 
on  the  Concepcion,  but  died  two  days  out  from  the  port,  on 
January  18,  1800.  Ensign  Manuel  Rodriguez  succeeded  him 
as  commander  of  the  port,  and  he  was  promoted  to  the 
lieutenancy  in  July,  1801.  The  corporals  and  privates,  with 


7 Vancouver,  Voyages,  vol.  ii,  pp.  495,  501. 

8 Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  651-652;  vol.  ii,  pp.  11-14;  102-104. 

9 Davidson,  Pacific  Coast  Pilot,  p.  17. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 77 


generally  an  armorer  and  carpenter,  varied  in  number  but 
slightly  from  fifty-seven  during  the  last  decade  of  the  cen- 
tury, not  including  the  retired  soldiers  or  invalids,  who 
gradually  increased  from  four  in  1792  to  fifteen  in  1800. 
From  this  force  twenty-seven  to  thirty-three  men  were  con- 
stantly detached  to  form  guards  for  the  five  missions,  in- 
cluding San  Miguel,  Lower  California,  and  the  town  of 
Los  Angeles.  In  1796,  Lieutenant  Jose  Font  with  twenty- 
five  Catalonian  Volunteers  came  up  from  Mexico  and  they 
were  stationed  here  till  their  return  in  1803.  At  the  same 
time,  six  artillerymen  under  Sergeant  Jose  Rocha  arrived 
and  increased  the  force  to  nearly  ninety  men.  The  whole 
white  population  of  the  district  consisted  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  souls,  according  to  Bancroft,  but  according  to  official 
reports  there  were  112  white  men,  that  is  to  say,  not  Indian, 
58  white  women,  78  white  boys,  and  51  white  girls,  or  in 
all  299  souls.  Of  these,  160  lived  at  the  presidio ; the  rest 
were  scattered  in  the  missions  or  were  located  at  the  pueblo 
as  pensioners.  In  1800,  eight  foundling  children  were  sent 
up  from  Mexico  to  live  at  San  Diego.10 

Ensign  Francisco  Maria  Ruiz  of  Santa  Barbara,  at  the 
end  of  1805  was  promoted  to  the  lieutenancy  and  appointed 
acting  commander  of  San  Diego  to  succeed  Captain  Manuel 
Rodriguez,  who  in  1806  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
habilitado  general  for  the  Californias  with  residence  in 
Mexico.  Late  in  1807,  Captain  Raimundo  Carrillo  took 
charge;  but  he  died  in  November,  1809.  His  daughter,  in 
1804,  married  Jose  de  la  Guerra  y Noriega  who  at  the  time 
was  ensign  at  Santa  Barbara.  Ruiz  then  became  com- 
mander and  remained  in  charge  till  1827,  although  he  did 
not  enjoy  the  rank  of  captain  till  1820.  The  presidio 
obtained  supplies  from  the  missions  of  the  district  as  fol- 
lows: in  1804,  to  the  amount  of  $4,000;  in  1806,  to  the 
amount  of  $5,500;  and  in  1807,  to  the  amount  of  $7,700. 
The  records  of  other  years  are  not  extant,  according  to 


io  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  646,  648. 


178  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Bancroft.11  This  historian  also  notes  particularly  that  in 
the  said  years  the  presidio  officials  collected  annually  $75, 
and  in  1811  as  much  as  $111,  from  the  distribution  of 
Papal  Bulls,  which  in  other  places  he  ignorantly  calls  Papal 
Indulgences}2  These  were  nothing  more  than  certificates 
entitling  the  holder  to  the  privilege  of  using  flesh  meat  on 
certain  days  of  abstinence.  They  had  to  be  renewed  each 
year  and  could  be  procured  from  government  officials  in 
consideration  of  a small  contribution,  twenty-five  cents  for 
ordinary  people  once  a year.  The  poor  had  to  pay  nothing 
for  them.  Neither  the  missionaries  nor  any  other  official 
of  the  Church  received  any  portion  of  this  revenue.  All 
went  into  the  royal  treasury.  It  was  a privilege  granted 
by  the  Popes  to  the  Spanish  kings  in  acknowledgment  of 
the  services  which  the  Spanish  rulers  and  people  had  ren- 
dered and  the  sacrifices  they  made  in  behalf  of  Christianity 
in  the  wars  against  the  Mohamedans.13 

In  1812,  the  Spanish  Government  for  some  reason  or  other 
sent  to  all  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  in  the  dominion 
of  Spain  an  “Interrogators”  or  list  of  questions  regarding 
the  natives  in  their  pagan  state.  The  missionaries  of  Cali- 
fornia received  this  list  through  the  Bishop  of  Sonora.  The 
replies  were  laid  down  in  a document  called  “Respuesta — 
Answer.”  Omitting  the  questions  for  the  sake  of  brevity 
and  because  they  can  be  readily  inferred,  we  here  subjoin 
entire  the  answers  of  the  two  missionaries  of  Mission  San 
Diego  to  the  thirty-six  questions.  They  throw  a clear  light 
on  the  Indians  of  the  district  in  their  pagan  state. 

{(Respuesta 

The  undersigned  Fathers  of  Mission  San  Diego  de  Nipa- 
guay  respond  to  the  questions  of  the  Interrogatorio  which 
His  Excellency  Don  Ciriano  Gonzales  Carvajal,  Secretary 


11  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  651-652;  vol.  ii,  pp.  11-14;  98-104,  340. 

12  Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  pp.  167,  343. 

13  For  a full  discussion  of  this  subject  see  Missions  and  Missionaries , 
vol.  iii,  pp.  620-623. 


. Mission  San  Diego 


79 


ad  interim  of  the  Guvernacion  del  Reino  de  Ultramar, 
directed  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  Sonpra,  and  by  whose 
orders  the  Rev.  Jose  Joaquin  Calvo  sent  it  to  the  Very  Rev. 
Fr.  Jose  Senan,  Presidente  of  the  Missions  of  Upper 
California. 

1.  In  this  Mission  of  San  Diego,  two  classes  of  people 
are  attended,  the  neophytes  and  the  military  of  the  adjoin- 
ing presidio  of  San  Diego,  among  whom  there  is  but  one 
European. 

2.  The  native  home  of  the  neophytes  is  the  mission  and 
its  neighborhood. 

3.  The  idiom  which  the  neophytes  speak  is  the  Language 
of  MAU.  It  is  so  called  because  for  the  word  yes  . they 
say  SAA,  and  for  no  they  say  MAU.  They  understand 
and  speak  also  our  Castilian  language,  especially  the  young 
people. 

4.  In  these  neophytes,  much  affection  between  man  and 
wife  is  observed;  for  at  the  death  of  either,  the  survivor 
weeps  much  and  goes  about  sad ; this  is  more  common 
among  the  old  people.  The  parents  love  their  children  to 
excess ; for  by  every  means  they  seek  to  feed  them.  They 
suffer  want  themselves  rather  than  let  their  children  feel 
it ; and  this  is  general  with  all.  The  parents  train  their 
children ; for  it  is  noticed  that,  when  they  do  wrong,  the 
parents  exhort,  reprove,  and  even  punish  them ; but  this  is 
not  common  with  all.  They  are  excessively  averse  to  labor 

. and  mechanical  arts  but  the  vigilant  missionaries  make  them 
apply  themselves  to  labor  and  mechanical  arts,  and  the 
Indians  learn  any  task  with  facility. 

5.  There  is  noticed  in  these  neophytes  a good  deal  of 
fondness  for  the  Europeans  and  Americans;  for  they  wish 
to  serve  them  and  to  live  with  them.  No  hatred  or  rancor 
is  observed. 

6.  Already  answered. 

7.  No  inclination  to  learn  to  read  or  write  is  noticed; 
for  no  vestige  is  found  which  would  demonstrate  that  they 
at  any  time  used  characters.  But  the  missionaries,  indeed, 


i8o  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

put  one  or  the  other  to  writing  and  reading,  and  these  learn 
with  facility.  They  use  our  paper  for  it. 

8.  To  this  mission  come  every  year  from  paganism  those 
who  desire  to  be  Christians,  and  a large  proportion  are  old 
people.  It  is  difficult  for  them  to  learn  to  speak  the  Cas- 
tilian tongue.  The  most  suitable  method  to  induce  them  to 
speak  is  the  one  we  follow,  that  is,  to  exhort  and  admonish 
them  and  to  threaten  punishment ; to  the  young  people 
punishment  is  sometimes  applied.  The  causes  which  have 
hindered  them  in  using  the  Castilian  language  we  do  not 
know. 

9.  The  virtues  of  compassion,  charity,  and  generosity  are 
noticed,  especially  in  the  women. 

10.  They  are  very  fond  of  participating  in  the  Feast  of 
the  Bird  called  Gavilan  (Hawk),  which  consists  in  search- 
ing with  much  anxiety  for  that  bird.  They  invite  one  an- 
other to  hunt  for  it.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  at  this  mission  certain  neophytes  who  are  very  smart, 
though  very  poor  at  the  work  of  collecting  seeds.  Hence, 
when  they  want  food,  they  take  up  the  plan  of  searching 
for  that  bird.  They  deceive  the  more  simple-minded  and 
tell  them  that  the  bird  is  a real  person  who  can  liberate 
them  from  their  enemies  and  who  grants  them  whatever 
they  ask.  Under  this  supposition,  though  false,  the  simple- 
tons believe  with  such  obstinacy,  that  they  take  as  much 
care  of  the  bird  as  the  most  affectionate  mother  would  show 
for  her  child.  For  as  soon  as  they  have  caught  the  bird; 
they  treat  it  to  whatever  they  hunt  or  chase,  and  of  the 
seeds  gathered  they  always  give  it  the  best.  After  they 
have  raised  it,  they  kill  it ; then  they  burn  it  and  white  it 
is  consuming  on  the  pyre,  they  offer  it  the  collected  seeds, 
beads,  and  whatever  they  prize.  In  the  following  year,  they 
search  for  another  hawk  and  treat  it  in  the  same  manner. 
The  method  used  to  break  them  of  this  foolishness  is  to 
appoint  a few  good  Indians  to  watch  over  this  particular 
affair ; and  all  who  are  caught  practicing  it  are  severely 
punished  in  public. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 8 1 


11.  In  this  Mission  we  use  and  observe  the  catechism 
(in  the  native  as  well  as  in  the  Castilian  language)  which 
our  Superiors  have  prescribed. 

12.  Answered  under  number  10. 

13.  In  the  moral  as  well  as  in  the  political  order  progress 
is  noticed. 

14.  When  a young  man  thinks  of  getting  married,  he 
goes  to  the  house  of  the  parents  of  the  desired  girl,  or  to 
that  of  her  nearest  relative,  and  asks  her  of  them.  If  the 
girl  consents,  they  immediately  go  to  the  house  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, where  the  young  people  present  themselves  accom- 
panied by  the  parents  and  the  witnesses,  and  declare  in  the 
presence  of  the  missionaries  that  they  desire  to  marry.  If 
there  is  no  impediment,  the  marriage  takes  place. 

15.  They  have  no  other  curative  methods  than  those 
which  the  missionaries  or  some  other  white  person  may 
apply  to  the  Indians.  For,  although  this  country  is  favored 
with  many  medicinal  herbs,  the  Indians  do  not  use  them, 
nor  have  they  used  them  at  any  time.  There  are  certain 
shrewd  neophytes  who  call  themselves  Guisiyag , which 
means  wizard.  The  method  they  employ  in  curing  diseases 
is  that  as  soon  as  an  Indian  is  found  to  be  sick,  the  rela- 
tives approach  or  summon  the  guisiyag.  This  fellow  comes 
with  a stone  or  a stick  or  some  hair  concealed  in  his  mouth, 
which  he  applies  to  the  suffering  part.  Then  he  commences 
to  extract  or  suck  from  the  said  part  and  on  withdrawing 
shows  what  he  had  concealed  in  his  mouth  and  persuades 
the  patient  that  this  is  was  that  ailed  him.  At  this  they 
are  all  quiet  and  content,  since  it  appears  to  them  that  the 
patient  is  already  freed  from  his  malady.  From  this  it 
may  be  inferred  that  their  greatest  infirmity  and  ailment 
is  melancholy  and  apprehension.  However,  the  most  wide- 
spread malady  is  the  morbo  venereo.  For  the  last  four 
years,  in  this  part  of  the  territory,  deaths  have  exceeded 
Baptisms.  In  the  last  year  of  1814,  the  deaths  were  118, 
while  the  Baptisms  were  only  75.  In  this  number  are  in- 
cluded the  gentile  adults  who  have  been  baptized. 


182  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

16.  The  seasons  of  the  year  are  known  by  the  leaves 
on  the  trees,  by  the  plants  in  the  fields,  and  by  the  harvest 
of  the  various  grains.  The  Indians  have  not  and  never  had 
a calendar.  They  are  guided  merely  by  the  sun  and  the 
moon. 

17.  The  missionaries  provide  food  for  the  neophytes.  In 
the  morning  it  consists  of  atole  or  a gruel  of  barley,  wheat, 
or  corn.  At  noon  they  get  pozole,  which  consists  of  the 
same  grains  boiled.  In  the  evening  the  meal  is  the  same 
as  in  the  morning.  Every  fifteen  days,  twenty-four  head 
of  cattle  are  slaughtered.  More  is  not  given  because  the 
condition  of  the  mission  permits  no  more. 

18.  We  are  not  aware  that  they  use  any  fermented  bever- 
age ; but  they  have  occasion,  indeed,  to  drink  wine  and 
aguardiente  to  excess  (at  the  presidio). 

19.  Answered  under  number  10. 

20.  The  Indians  are  not  eager  to  preserve  the  customs 
of  their  forefathers.  They  say  that  they  came  from  the 
north  to  these  lands. 

21.  In  their  burials  they  observe  no  ceremonial  what- 
ever. What  they  do  is  this : at  the  death  of  any  one,  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  in  the  presence  of  the  mission- 
aries, throw  a few  seeds  of  grain  into  the  grave,  and  then 
raise  a wail  which  lasts  for  some  days. 

22.  They  are  little  trustworthy  in  their  dealings  and 
words. 

23.  They  are  inclined  to  tell  lies,  especially  in  reporting 
anything  incriminating;  for  they  dread  chastisement  and  that 
is  the  reason  for  their  lying. 

24.  The  dominant  vices  in  them  are  impurity,  stealing, 
and  murder. 

25.  They  readily  loan  things  to  one  another  and  without 
interest. 

26.  As  they  lead  a community  life  under-  the  direction 
of  the  missionaries,  the  latter  apportion  the  labor  and  the 
sustenance. 

27.  The  Indians  are  much  inclined  to  pride  and  rancor; 


Mission  San  Diego 


183 


the  men  persecute  one  another  to  death  out  of  jealousy  or 
for  some  other  grievance ; the  women,  when  they  are 
angered  at  their  men,  or  when  the  men  have  dealings  with 
other  women,  may  revenge  themselves  for  such  grievances 
by  committing  suicide. 

28.  Answered  under  number  10. 

29.  Among  the  pagans  no  other  idolatry  is  observed  than 
the  Feast  of  the  Bird,  after  the  manner  described  under 
number  10.  The  ceremonial  which  they  observe  at  their 
burials  consists  in  burning  the  body ; while  it  is  burning, 
they  throw  seeds  on  the  fire  and  raise  a cry  accompanied 
by  weeping,  which  lasts  for  days  and  even  for  months. 

30.  Since  the  neophytes  live  in  community,  they  have 
no  private  property  and  therefore  they  are  neither  rich  nor 
effeminate. 

31.  The  neophytes  of  the  Mission  are  equal  as  to  food 
and  clothing,  which  is  all  they  possess. 

32.  The  male  and  female  neophytes  of  this  Mission  serve 
the  military  of  the  presidio  nearby,  because  they  volun- 
tarily desire  to  serve  them.  The  latter  then  have  the  same 
obligations  as  the  Fathers,  that  is  to  say,  they  must  feed 
and  clothe  the  neophytes,  attend  to  their  education,  and  give 
them  a good  example. 

33.  These  neophytes  have  not  and  never  had  other  musi- 
cal instruments  than  a timbrel  which  has  a disagreeable 
sound.  However,  the  Fathers  have  procured  some  musical 
instruments,  and  the  neophytes  play  them  with  some  ability ; 
they  would  be  proficient  if  they  had  someone  to  perfect 
them,  for  they  are  very  fond  of  our  musical  instruments. 

34.  In  this  Mission  there  are  not  and  never  have  been 
men  distinguished  in  literature  or  in  arms. 

35.  It  is  known  that  the  Indians  have  an  idea  of  eternity, 
of  a reward  and  punishment,  of  a final  judgment,  of  purga- 
tory, hell,  and  heaven;  for  some  live  continent,  others  con- 
fess during  the  year,  many  at  Easter  time,  and  at  the  hour 
of  death  all  anxiously  plead  for  the  holy  Sacraments. 

36.  These  neophytes  are  dressed  in  overalls  and  a blanket 
and  wear  a sash  half  a yard  wide  around  the  waist.  The 


184  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


women  wear  chemise,  gown,  and  blanket  or  shawl.  Mission 
San  Diego,  December  23,  1814. — Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  Fr. 
Jose  Sanchez.”  14 

There  were  some  vicious  characters  among  the  neophytes 
of  San  Diego  Mission,  and  the  fact  that  many  had  to  be 
allowed  to  live  most  of  the  time  in  their  distant  rancherias 
away  from  the  control  of  the  missionaries  scarcely  helped 
the  Indians  to  curb  their  passions.  Late  in  1814,  for  in- 
stance, three  Indians,  called  Francisco,  Fermin,  and  Fer- 
nando, who  were  neophytes  only  in  name,  murdered  the 
mayordomo  of  the  mission,  whose  name  was  Miguel.  The 
affair  was  reported  to  the  viceroy  in  February,  1815,  but  the 
fate  of  the  criminals  is  not  known,  as  no  documents  appear 
to  have  been  preserved.15 

A similar  case  was  that  of  Vicente  Acevedo  of  San  Diego, 
who  in  April,  1815,  was  accused  of  having  stabbed  his 
wife.  He  claimed  that  he  did  so  because  she  had  put  some 
herbs  into  his  porridge.  Of  course,  that  was  as  true  as 
Indian  accusations  generally  were,  for  instance  those  against 
the  missionaries,  and  it  was  sure  that  he  made  it  only  to 
cover  some  misdeed  of  his  own.  In  the  trial,  it  became 
evident  that  he  had  attempted  the  life  of  his  wife  in  order 
to  rid  himself  of  her,  so  that  he  could  live  with  another 
woman.  On  August  1,  1815,  he  was  sentenced  to  receive 
daily  for  nine  days  twenty-five  lashes  at  the  door  of  the 
guardhouse  of  Mission  San  Diego  in  the  presence  of  the 
other  Indians,  as  a lesson  to  them,  and  then  he  was  put 
in  chains.  The  woman  he  coveted  was  sentenced  to  receive 
daily  twelve  lashes  in  the  women’s  apartments,  and  then  to 
be  kept  a prisoner  there  among  the  single  women ; and 
finally  she  was  turned  over  to  the  care  of  the  missionaries. 

Horse-stealing  developed  early.  The  culprits  were  not 
unceremoniously  hanged  as  was  the  case  among  the  rovers 


14  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 

is  Cal.  Arch.,  Dep.  St.  Pap.,  Ben.  Mil.,  xxxxvi,  p.  7,  Bancroft  Col- 
lection. 


Mission  San  Diego 


185 

on  the  western  wilds;  for  after  all,  human  life,  even  that 
of  an  Indian,  was  regarded  more  than  that  of  any  number 
of  horses ; but  the  punishment  inflicted  produced  a lasting 
effect  on  the  individual.  For  instance,  in  September,  1816, 
Governor  Sola  directed  Comandante  Ruiz  of  San  Diego  to 
apply  to  some  Indians,  who  had  stolen  horses,  a novena 
of  twenty-five  lashes,  that  is  to  say,  twenty-five  stripes  a 
day  for  nine  days,  then  to  put  them  in  chains,  and  to  engage 
them  in  labor  at  the  presidio  for  six  years.16 

Nothing  else  of  importance  seems  to  have  occurred  in  the 
first  two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century.  “It  was  an  un- 
eventful period  even  for  San  Diego,  always  the  dullest  place 
in  the  province,”  as  Bancroft  writes.  “As  elsewhere  the 
inhabitants  had  the  ever-increasing  destitution”  (due,  we 
may  add,  to  the  revolt  in  Mexico  and  to  the  indolence  of 
the  local  soldiery  and  their  relatives)  “as  a subject  for 
thought  and  conversation,  too  often  without  cigarettes  to 
clear  the  minds  for  a proper  consideration  of  the  problem. 
Only  twice  did  they  see  upon  their  fine  bay  the  sail  of  any 
craft  except  that  of  their  own  flat-boat  plying  lazily  to  and 
from  Point  Guijarros,  when  Wilcox  in  the  Traveler  came 
for  a load  of  grain  in  September,  1817,  and  the  whaler 
Discovery  refitted  in  the  port  in  August,  1820.  There  was 
some  kind  of  school  at  San  Diego  during  a part  of  the 
decade.”  17 

After  1811,  neither  stipends  for  the  missionaries  nor  sal- 
aries for  the  military,  to  be  paid  in  goods  designated,  came 
from  Mexico,  owing  to  the  revolt  then  raging  in  that  un- 
happy country.  The  Fathers  regretted  the  non-appearance 
of  the  annual  transports  with  the  Memories  only  for  the 
sake  of  their  dusky  wards ; for  they  could  no  longer  de- 
light them  with  various  kinds  of  gifts  such  as  solicitous 
fathers  provide  for  their  children,  and  among  which  even 


16  Cal.  Arch.,  Dep.  St.  Pap.,  Ben.  Mil.,  xxxxvi,  pp.  8-9.  Bancroft 
Collection. 

17  Bancroft,  vol.  i,  pp.  343-344. 


1 86  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

fireworks  used  to  figure.  Nor  could  they  offer  anything 
but  home  products  to  attract  the  savages  to  the  mission 
family;  for  of  beads  and  other  gaudy  trinkets  the  pagans 
were  even  more  fond  than  the  neophytes.  Hence  a strong 
means  of  increasing  the  number  of  converts  'was  lost ; for 
other  methods  of  winning  over  the  savages  were  not  em- 
ployed, the  bold  assertion  of  mission  enemies  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. 

The  reader  will  excuse  us  if  we  dwell  on  this  point  a 
little  longer,  because  an  apparently  so  well-meaning  author 
as  William  A.  Smythe,  and  that  as  late  as  1908,  asserts  in 
his  History  of  San  Diego  18  that  “the  missionaries  were  so 
deeply  in  earnest  to  bring  souls  to  Christ  that  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  employ  the  military  arm  as  a means  of  forcible 
conversion.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  whole  villages 
were  sometimes  surrounded  and  their  inhabitants  driven  to 
the  missions.” 

A little  knowledge  of  Catholic  doctrine  and  practice  and 
less  gullibility  would  have  prevented  Smythe  from  penning 
such  an  outrageous  statement.  All  the  villages  in  the  San 
Diego  district  are  known  and  enumerated,  as  we  shall  see 
later.  Which  whole  village,  nay,  which  family  of  any  such 
village,  was  treated  in  the  manner  alleged?  No  such  forcible 
winning  for  Christ  occurred  anywhere  in  California,  much 
less  at  the  San  Diego  Mission,  where  most  of  the  neophytes 
did  not  live  at  that  establishment  at  all.  Furthermore,  the 
soldiers  were  not  at  the  disposal  of  the  missionaries  for  any 
such  purpose.  And  even  if  the  military  had  been  free  to 
assist  in  such  nefarious  action,  the  Fathers  could  not  have 
employed  them  for  such  a purpose,  because  a Baptism  admin- 
istered to  any  one  so  brought  to  the  mission  would  have 
been  null  and  void,  and  would  have  subjected  the  priest  to 
the  heaviest  censures. 

Nor  does  Smythe  prove  his  assertion  by  referring  to 
Robinson’s  Life  in  California , where  the  author  says  that 


18  Yol.  i,  pp.  60-61. 


Mission  San  Diego 


,s7 


“it  is  not  unusual  to  see  numbers  of  the  Indians  driven 
along  by  the  alcaldes,  and  under  the  whip’s,  lash  forced  to 
the  very  doors  of  the  sanctuary.”  Robinson  is  not  an  im- 
partial witness.  He  had  become  a Catholic  because  a 
Spanish  lady  would  not  have  otherwise  consented  to  marry 
him ; it  would  seem,  however,  that  Baptism  had  not  entirely 
washed  out  of  him  every  anti-Catholic  rubbish.  He  was, 
therefore,  like  many  another  well-meaning  writer,  prone  to 
believe  without  examining  the  facts  closely.  At  Mission 
San  Diego  he  had  tarried  only  once  and  that  for  two  hours 
about  noon,  at  a time  when  there  was  no  divine  service  in 
church.  Besides,  suppose  the  case  was  as  he  puts  it,  the 
said  Indian  alcalde  or  foreman  did  no  worse  than  school 
teachers  were,  at  least  formerly,  accustomed  to  do.  These, 
too,  could  be  seen  with  whip  in  hand  taking  care  that 
their  unruly  boys  marched  to  the  classes  in  an  orderly 
manner.  So  much  for  the  bubble. 

For  themselves  the  Franciscan  missionaries  in  this  and  in 
the  other  missions  cared  little  whether  or  not  any  supplies 
arrived  from  Mexico,  although  they  needed  habits  and  un- 
derwear and  sandals,  which,  however,  were  hereafter  made 
in  the  mission  shops  by  the  neophytes.  Church  goods,  too, 
could  be  similarly  provided  or  obtained  from  merchant  ves- 
sels in  exchange  for  grain  and  hides  and  tallow.  What  the 
Fathers  felt  keenly  was  that  after  1811,  the  whole  military, 
from  the  governor  down  to  the  last  worthless  soldier,  de- 
manded that  the  mission  furnish  every  necessity  of  the 
department,  from  tortilla  to  uniform  and  weapons,  either 
in  kind  or  in  coin.  Thousands  of  dollars  were  collected 
from  the  missions  in  the  shape  of  money  contributions. 
Others  there  were  in  the  territory  who  profited  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  soldiery,  namely,  the  white  settlers  and  rancheros 
with  their  large  flocks ; but  on  these  no  such  calls  for  con- 
tributions were  made.  As  the  missionaries  possessed  noth- 
ing and  received  nothing  for  managing  the  missions  save 
what  they  wore  and  ate,  they  and  their  neophytes  had  either 
to  produce  by  combined  efforts  what  the  heartless,  indo- 
lent soldiery  demanded  or  be  threatened  with  forcible  seizure 


1 88  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


of  the  mission  property.  Even  the  obtuse  mind  of  the 

Indian  perceived  the  injustice  they  were  made  to  suffer. 
Why  should  they  labor  and  see  the  white  people  alone 
thrive  thereon?  They  had  not  joined  the  mission  family 
for  that  purpose,  but  for  the  sake  of  providing  for  them- 
selves and  their  families  under  the  expert  and  disinter- 
ested guidance  of  the  priest  whom  they  trusted  implicitly 
and  obeyed  cheerfully,  seeing  how  well  he  improved  and 
preserved  everything  for  them.  It  is  evident  that  under 
such  condition  no  white  man  would  have  remained  at  the 
mission.  Is  the  Indian  to  be  blamed  then,  if  he  chafed 
under  regulations  which  virtually  made  him  a slave  of  the 
soldiers  and  degraded  the  missionary  to  the  level  of  a mere 
overseer  of  a slave  plantation?  Yet,  out  of  higher  motives, 
both  the  Indians  and  the  Fathers  remained,  although  it 
required  all  the  ingenuity,  and  piety,  and  heartfelt  sympathy 
of  the  missionaries  to  quiet  their  Indian  neophytes  and  to 
make  them  submit  to  the  yoke  which  the  military  imposed 
upon  them.  Such  was  the  affection  the  Indian  harbored 
for  their  spiritual  guides,  as  Smythe  might  have  known 
from  Forbes,  pages  277,  414,  and  557.  These  and  none  other 
are  the  historical  facts  on  the  subjects.  Now  let  us  quote 
other  absurd  and  unjust  assertions  of  Smythe,  which  are 
really  but  a rehash  of  the  ebullitions  of  bigoted  writers  and 
of  the  mission  despoilers. 

That  the  good  Fathers,  he  says,  thought  it  more  important  to  save 
the  souls  of  the  Indian  than  to  spare  their  feelings  or  their  backs, 
is  easily  susceptible  of  belief ; for  the  missionary  zeal  knew  no 
bounds.  Better  a converted  soul  in  chains  than  a free  heathen! 
There  is  no  doubt  that  they  sincerely  subscribed  to  this  doctrine,  and 
they  were  no  more  fanatic  than  many  others  of  their  time  all  over 
the  world.  Nevertheless,  the  fair-minded  student  will  not  forget  that 
while  they  were  saving  souls  they  were  organizing  a mass  of  cheap 
labor  which  worked  for  the  enrichment  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  and 
founding  settlements  which  they  thought  would  secure  the  permanent 
possession  of  an  opulent  land  for  the  benefit  of  their  sovereign. 
In  other  words,  their  duty  and  interest  happened  to  be  the  same,  and 
they  had  thus  a double  motive  for  what  they  did.  They  thought  it 
was  good  religion  and  good  statesmanship.19 


is  Smythe,  vol.  i,  p.  61. 


“AND  HE  COMMANDED  THEM  THAT  THEY  SHOULD  TAKE  NOTHING  FOR  THE  WAY,  BUT  A STAFF 
ONLY:  NO  SCRIP,  NO  BREAD,  NOR  MONEY  IN  THEIR  PURSE,  BUT  BE  SHOD  WITH  SANDALS,  AND 

THAT  THEY  SHOULD  NOT  PUT  ON  TWO  COATS.’ ’ — MATTHEW,  VI,  8-9.  SO  THEY  CAME  AND  DEPARTED. 


190  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Here  we  have  a blind  man  describing  colors.  Smythe 
published  his  work  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  study 
the  mass  of  evidence  in  the  present  writer’s  five  volumes; 
else  he  would  not  have  put  so  much  nonsense  and  untruth 
into  one  paragraph.  The  reader  is  referred  to  our  first  and 
second  volume  for  the  true  status  of  the  Franciscans,  and 
to  the  third  and  fourth  volume  for  the  attitude  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans from  the  time  when  the  supplies  failed  to  arrive 
until  the  restoration  of  the  mission  properties  to  the  Catholic 
Church  by  the  United  States  Government.  Had  Smythe  seen 
the  historical  facts  collected  there,  he  would  not  have  penned 
this  additional  falsehood:  “There  were  great  opportunities 
for  making  money,  and  the  shrewd  priests  made  the  most 
of  them.  They  were  bent  upon  the  enrichment  of  their 
Order  because  this  meant  a constant  increase  of  their 
power.”  20 

The  truth  is,  the  Franciscans  did  not  enrich  themselves 
nor  their  Order  by  as  much  as  a dollar.  They  had  made 
the  vow  of  poverty  before  they  set  foot  in  California,  and 
they  returned  to  Mexico  or  died  at  their  post  as  poor  as 
they  had  come.  Nothing  whatsoever  went  to  their  mis- 
sionary college,  although  free  of  cost  it  trained  and  sup- 
plied the  missionaries  for  California.  If  authors  and  writers 
are  so  commercialized  that  they  can  neither  imagine  nor 
appreciate  such  unselfishness  and  therefore  conclude  that  the 
Franciscans  in  the  missions  aimed  at  material  profit  in  return 
for  their  labors,  such  writers  may  know  themselves,  but 
they  certainly  have  no  conception  of  the  character  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Franciscans  who  devoted  themselves  to  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  the  California  Indians. 

When  the  soldiers  wanted  something  for  themselves  or 
their  families,  the  missions  would  be  called  upon  by  the 
commander  of  the  presidio  to  supply  it,  regardless  of  the 
needs  of  the  neophytes.  For  instance,  on  June  15,  1821, 
temporary  Comandante  Jose  Maria  Estudillo  requested  the 


20  Ibidem,  p.  68. 


Mission  San  Diego 


1 9 1 

missions  of  San  Diego,  San  Luis  Rey,  and  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano to  deliver  a certain  amount  of  grain  and  cereals. 
Poor  Mission  San  Diego  contributed  200  fanegas  or  333 
bushels  of  corn  and  44  fanegas  or  73  bushels  of  beans. 
The  preceding  harvest  had  yielded  only  28  fanegas  or  43 
bushels  of  corn,  but  no  beans.  Fortunately,  however,  the 
yield  of  the  year  1821  was  unusually  large — 2,120  fanegas 
or  3,530  bushels  of  corn  and  100  fanegas  or  166  bushels 
of  beans.  At  the  time,  the  Indian  population  of  the  mission 
comprised  335  married  couples,  170  male  and  169  female 
children  under  ten  years  of  age,  126  widowers  and  142 
widows,  270  unmarried  men  and  75  unmarried  women,  in 
all  1,622  souls.  On  the  other  hand,  the  garrison  in  1822 
comprised  60  private  soldiers,  seven  corporals,  and  two  ser- 
geants, besides  the  commander.  Of  these,  37  soldiers,  two 
corporals,  and  the  two  sergeants  were  married  and  had 
children.21  A tabulated  demand  made  by  the  presidio  of 
San  Diego  for  various  supplies  will  give  the  reader  some 
idea  of  what  the  poor  Indian  establishment  had  to  provide 
for  the  lazy  soldiers  who  lorded  it  over  them.  It  bears 
the  following  superscription : “Description  of  what  is  very 
much  needed  for  the  maintenance  and  equipment  of  the 
company  at  the  Presidio  of  San  Diego,  and  for  the  support 
of  their  families,  which  in  agreement  with  the  Very  Rev. 
Fr.  Commissary  Prefect,  Fr.  Mariano  Payeras,  has  been 
apportioned  and  must  be  supplied  by  the  four  missions 
of  this  jurisdiction,  during  the  year  1822.”  The  articles 
demanded  were 

60  knapsacks, 

40  muskets, 

40  leather  shields, 

240  pairs  of  shoes,  for  the  presidio  alone, 

40  cartridge  pouches, 

80  woolen  garters, 

20  sides  of  leather, 


2i  Archb.  Arch.,  nos.  1,223,.  2,539. 


192  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


69  riding  blankets, 

88  common  blankets, 

600  gajol  para  cor.  de  criaturas, 

200  sacks  and  200  frezadas  pastores. 

Of  this  list  of  goods,  Mission  San  Diego  furnished  her 
share  of  one- fourth,  except  the  cartridge  pouches  and  the 
sides  of  leather.22 

In  1824,  an  order  called  for  the  following  items  for  the 
presidio  from  each  of  the  four  missions  in  this  military 
district : 

338  fanegas  (563  bushels)  of  wheat, 

91  fanegas  (152  bushels)  of  beans. 

208  arrobas  (5,200  lbs.)  of  manteca,23 
$250  worth  of  soap, 

75  fanegas  (125  bushels)  of  corn,  for  the  Indian 
prisoners  at  the  presidio.24 

In  that  year,  the  mission  had  harvested  2,700  fanegas 

(4,500  bushels)  of  wheat,  but  only  320  fanegas  (533 

bushels)  of  corn  and  55  fanegas  (92  bushels)  of  beans. 
The  number  of  Indian  neophytes,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
1,829,  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  mission. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  demands  on  the  missions  were 

manifold  and  disagreeable.  At  times,  a request  would 
come,  however,  that  was  apt  to  elicit  a smile  from  the 

troubled  missionaries.  A case  in  point  is  the  following. 
In  September,  1819,  Governor  Sola  wrote  to  the  Fathers 
at  Mission  San  Diego : 

His  Excellency,  Viceroy  Count  de  Venadito,  desires  to  have  a dozen 
bottles  of  wine  from  your  mission,  in  order  to  send  them  to  the 
king  our  august  monarch  Don  Fernando  VII.  Let  each  bottle  be 
labeled  thus  ‘ 1 Wine  of  New  California  from  Mission  San  Diego.  ’ ’ 
The  box  should  be  labeled,  1 1 A1  Rey,  Nuestro  Senor  por  conducto  del 


22  Archb.  Arch.,  no.  2,539.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii, 
pp.  124,  129. 

23  i.  e.  tallow  drippings. 

24  Informe,  December  31,  1824.  Archb.  Arch.,  no.  2,538. 


Mission  San  Diego 


193 


Exmo.  Virrey  Concle  del  Venadito”;  and  if  you  know  that  it  could 
arrive  sound,  then  a barrel  of  the  same  wine  for  said  viceroy.  I 
shall  esteem  it  highly.25 

The  solicitous  official  very  likely  was  quite  well  acquainted 
with  the  quality  of  San  Diego  wine. 


2*  Cal.  Arch.,  Prow  Rec.  xi,  pp.  467,  498,  536,  blotter. 


CHAPTER  X. 


Cash  Demands  on  the  Mission. — Mission  not  Wealthy. — Governor  Eche- 
andia. — Heroism  of  the  Missionaries. — Glad  to  Leave. — Their  Zeal. — 
FP.  Payeras  and  Sanchez  in  Search  of  New  Mission  Sites. — 
Route. — Corn  Planted  at  Santa  Isabel. — Report  on  Location  and 
State  of  Mission. — Mexican  Independence. — Rev.  Vicente  Fernandez 
— Arrival  of  Governor  Echeandia. — Fathers  Decline  Taking  New 
Oath  of  Allegiance. — Reasons. — Greed  Awakened. — Missions  Needed 
by  the  Government. — Land  Grants  to  Neophytes. — Schools. — 
Smythe’s  Calumny. — First  Schools  in  America. — First  Manual  Train- 
ing Schools  in  California. — Smythe’s  Ignorance. — Demands  on  the 
Mission  Continue. — Neophyte  Establishes  Home  for  Himself. — 
Indians  at  Santa  Isabel  and  Santa  Monica  Cared  For. 

FREQUENTLY,  the  governor  himself  called  for  clothing, 
grain,  mules,  laborers,  and  even  for  cash.  How  to 
furnish  the  money  taxed  the  brain  of  the  Superior  of  the 
Missions  no  less  than  the  solicitude  of  the  individual  friar 
for  his  Indian  charges,  because  the  stupid  Spanish  regula- 
tions forbade  trading  with  any  foreign  vessels.  For  instance, 
on  December  16,  1820,  Fr.  Mariano  Payeras,  the  Comisario 
Prefecto,  was  requested  to  supply  $3,000.  He  replied  that 
he  had  been  able  to  collect  only  $2,000  from  the  missions. 
Again,  in  a circular,  dated  January  8,  1821,  Fr.  Payeras 
apportioned  $3,000  demanded  by  Governor  Sola.  The  share 
of  the  poorest  mission,  La  Soledad,  was  $25.  In  Tune,  1821, 
Governor  Sola  called  for  $6,000  to  relieve  his  troops.  On 
March  13,  1823,  Fr.  Payeras  directed  the  missions  to  supply 
whatever  they  could  spare  in  order  to  meet  the  demand  of 
Governor  Luis  Argiiello,  and  to  donate  it  outright.  Accord- 
ingly, Mission  San  Diego  offered  66  pairs  of  shoes,  66 
fresadas  past  ores,  150  yards  of  white  woolen  cloth.  On 
April  17,  1822,  Fr.  Payeras  asked  the  missions  to  contribute 
toward  a sum  of  $4,000  in  order  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
Governor  Sola  as  representative  to  the  Congress  of  Mexico. 


Mission  San  Diego 


195 

The  amount  assigned  to  Mission  San  Diego  was  $100  cash. 
In  October,  1822,  Fr.  Payeras  directed  this  same  mission 
to  contribute  $1502 

In  the  previous  year,  1821,  Fr.  Payeras  wrote  in  his 
Memorial  to  the  Viceroy,  “Like  all  white  people  of  the  terri- 
tory, the  governor  appears  to  believe  that  the  wealth  and 
money  of  the  missions  are  without  limit.  I have  heard  as 
much  during  all  the  twenty-six  years  of  my  ministry.  Yet 
most  of  them  have  no  more  than  is  necessary  to  meet  cur- 
rent expenses.” 1  2 

By  February,  1824,  the  demands  had  become  so  frequent 
and  unreasonable  as  to  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  execution. 
The  Fathers  of  the  four  southern  missions,  therefore,  refused 
to  furnish  any  more  supplies  for  the  troops  unless  they  were 
paid  a just  price.  Till  then  and  later,  in  exchange  for  their 
products  the  missions  had  received  only  drafts  on  Mexico 
which  no  one  would  accept  and  which  were,  therefore,  worth- 
less. As  the  Indians  at  various  missions  had  assumed  a 
threatening  attitude,  Governor  Luis  Argiiello  deemed  it  wise 
not  to  press  the  matter  further  than  to  warn  the  mission- 
aries that  there  was  danger  of  driving  the  troops  to  extremes. 
He  forgot  that  just  then  in  the  north  an  object  lesson 
presented  itself  which  showed  that  it  was  more  danger- 
ous to  drive  the  Indians  to  extremes.  Had  the  tormented 
missionaries  but  given  the  signal,  the  oppressed  neophytes 
would  have  driven  the  whole  military  force  of  California 
into  the  sea.  For  their  own  comfort  and  for  the  material 
well-being  of  their  charges,  the  Fathers  had  taught  the 
Indians  only  too  well  how  to  restrain  themselves  even  under 
crying  injustice. 

In  1824,  Fr.  Payeras’s  successor  likewise  protested  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  continue  meeting  such  exorbitant 
demands  as  those  of  the  past  year ; that  the  territorial 
authorities  had  a very  erroneous  idea  of  the  wealth  of  the 


1 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  117 ; 124-129. 

-Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  117. 


196  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

mission  products;  that  most  of  the  missions  after  paying  the 
various  taxes,  duties,  and  forced  loans,  could  barely  clothe 
their  neophytes  in  coarse  and  scanty  material;  that  they 
could  not  collect  the  sums  due  to  the  missions ; and  that  the 
settlers  in  the  ranches  and  town  had  never  done  anything 
for  the  troops,  although  Los  Angeles  had  1,000  inhabitants 
with  rich  lands  and  many  ranches.  If  the  governor  chose 
to  use  violent  means,  he,  the  Fr.  Presidente,  would  not 
support  him,  and  since  the  Fathers  would  not  resist,  there 
was  grave  reason  to  fear  that  they  all  would  quit  the 
country  and  the  missions  would  be  abandoned.  If  the 
Franciscans  left  the  missions,  however,  the  Indians  would 
certainly  not  remain  either,  but  would  return  to  the  sierras. 
As  to  the  soldiers  and  their  friends,  they  would  not  work 
the  lands  without  the  Indians.  That  seemed  to  have  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  officials  to  the  folly  of  their  attitude  toward 
the  missionaries.3 

Nevertheless,  when  poor  Mission  San  Diego  could  not 
honor  the  demands  for  supplies  as  hastily  as  the  new 
governor,  Jose  M.  Echeandia,  expected,  he  went  so  far  as  to 
direct  Lieutenant  Jose  M.  Ibarra  to  proceed  to  that  mission 
with  a force  of  soldiers  and  to  bring  away  all  the  grain  that 
the  mules  could  carry.4  To  Echeandia,  who  appears  to  have 
belonged  to  the  class  of  heartless  and  irreligious  usurpers 
that  tyrannized  poor  Mexico,  it  was  apparently  a matter  of 
no  concern  whether  or  not  the  Indian  converts  themselves 
had  anything  to  eat.  The  missionaries  keenly  felt  the 
humiliating  slavery  to  which  they  and  their  Indian  charges 
were  consigned.  Yet,  what  would  become  of  the  neophytes, 
if  they  abandoned  them?  For  the  sake  of  the  sheep,  there- 
fore, the  shepherds  remained,  to  console  their  flock  where 
they  could  not  relieve  them.  At  all  events,  though  they 
longed  to  abandon  their  ungrateful  task,  they  would  not 


s Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  190-193. 

4 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  p.  235. 


Mission  San  Diego  197 

depart  on  their  own  account.  Such  was  their  heroic 
resolution. 

Meanwhile,  however,  laws  had  been  passed  in  Mexico 
which  aimed  at  the  removal  of  the  Franciscans  and  the 
substitution  of  secular  priests.  What  the  unselfish  friars 
felt  on  hearing  the  news  is  well  expressed  in  a letter  of 
Fr.  Sanchez  of  San  Diego  to  Governor  Sola.  “I  can  not 
do  less,”  he  says,  “than  reply  in  the  words  of  Psalm  121 : 
‘My  heart  rejoiced  exceedingly  at  the  things  that  were  said 
to  me.’  Yes,  Sir,  I assure  Your  Honor  that  those  were 
the  things  that  have  driven  me  from  that  mission.  Such 
have  been  my  anguish  and  my  disgust.”  5 

The  Bishop  of  Sonora,  however,  could  not  spare  priests 
to  replace  the  Fathers,  and  so  the  Franciscans  with  their 
faithful  neophytes  had  to  continue  to  supply  the  shiftless 
soldiers  and  to  endeavor  at  the  same  time  not  only  to  keep 
the  ranks  of  their  mission  family  intact,  but  also  to  gather 
in  the  rest  of  the  savages  in  the  sierras;  for  neither  opposi- 
tion nor  persecution,  nor  disappointment,  nor  even  illness 
could  smother  the  desire  of  these  messengers  of  the  Gospel 
to  win  all  that  were  approachable.  Despite  the  lack  of 
material  inducements,  such  as  in  the  early  days  had  attracted 
the  natives,  the  Fathers  succeeded  in  converting  all  the 
Indians  occupying  the  sierras  as  far  as  the  Colorado  Desert. 
Sub-mission  Santa  Isabel  enabled  them  to  complete  the 
conversion  in  that  direction.  It  was  well  that  the  poverty 
of  the  missionaries  no  longer  repelled  the  savages ; for 
with  the  cutting  loose  of  Mexico  from  Spain,  and  the 
accession  to  governmental  control  of  men  not  in  sympathy 
with  a Religion  that  bridled  the  passions,  notably  greed 
and  lust,  there  was  no  prospect  of  ever  restoring  life  at 
the  missions  to  the  happy  and  flourishing  state  observed 
in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  On  February- 
24,  1821,  Mexico  had  accomplished  her  independence  from 


5 Missions  and  Missionaries , vol.  iii,  pp..  104-105.  Arclii).  Arcli., 
no.  1,264. 


198  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Spain,  and  with  that  event,  thanks  to  the  men  who  obtained 
control,  Mexico  bade  farewell  also  to  religious  and  political 
peace,  a blessing  she  has  not  recovered  to  this  day.  The 
same  was  experienced  in  California  till  1846,  when  the 
United  States  planted  its  flag  on  the  coast.  But  we  must 
not  anticipate. 

Notwithstanding  the  gloomy  outlook  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  missions,  the  zealous  Fr.  Comisario  Prefecto  of  the 
Franciscans,  Fr.  Mariano  Payeras,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
official  visit  at  Mission  San  Diego,  in  September,  1821, 
resolved  to  see  the  country  to  the  east  with  a view  to  find- 
ing suitable  sites  for  establishing  another  mission  in  the 
interior  where  pagans  were  said  to  be  very  numerous. 
On  September  10,  he  set  out  from  the  mission,  accompanied 
by  Fr.  Jose  Sanchez,  six  guards,  and  two  retired  soldiers, 
Jose  Manuel  Silvas  and  Marcos  Briones.  Fr.  Sanchez 
kept  the  diary  of  the  expedition.  It  is  interesting  enough  to 
be  reproduced  in  substance  so  far  as  it  concerns  Mission 
San  Diego. 

“We  set  out,”  he  writes,  “on  September  10,  1821,  at  4 
p.m.,  from  Mission  San  Diego  de  Nipaguai,  accompanied  by 
six  soldiers  and  two  other  men.  Taking  the  course  to  the 
east  for  Santa  Monica,  a ranch  of  said  mission,  which  is 
also  called  El  Cajon  and  may  be  about  five  leagues  distant, 
we  arrived  there  at  about  6:30  p.m.,  and  passed  the  night 
there. 

“September  11. — At  about  3 a.m.,  we  started  for  the  north, 
and  after  about  a league  we  moved  through  a Canada  called 
Arrastradero,  where  we  found  a ranch  called  Michegua. 
Thence  in  zigzag  course  we  came  to  Jueptahua  with  ten 
pagans.  Leaving  the  plain  called  Pamo  we  came  upon 
another  rancheria  called  Canapui  with  six  pagans.  North 
by  east  through  said  valley,  where  the  soil  was  not  bad,  we 
reached  Egepam,  which  means  foreign  or  strange.  Here 
we  breakfasted  at  8 a.m. ; we  found  only  three  savages. 
From  here  we  traveled  past  a spring  northward  through 
the  Canada  de  Santa  Isabel,  which  the  Indians  call 


Mission  San  Diego  199 

Elcuanam  and  which  we  reached  at  9 a.m.,  after  having 
journeyed  eleven  leagues  since  leaving  Santa  Monica. 

“September  12. — -We  spent  the  day  visiting:  the  sick  and 
conversing  with  the  pagans  in  order  to  persuade  them  to 
become  Christians.  This  afternoon  we  returned  to  Santa 
Isabel  Valley.  It  is  small,  but  the  soil  is  good;  there  is  a 
spring  in  the  center  and  oak  trees  abound.  This  was  Sep- 
tember 13. 

“September  14. — At  daybreak  we  began  to  climb  the  Sierra 
Madre.  We  passed  the  place  of  the  rodeo  for  the  cattle 
belonging  to  Mission  San  Diego,  going  two  hours  and  a 
half,  and  arrived  at  a place  whence  we  expected  to  view 
the  Colorado,  but  could  not  owing  to  the  dense  vapors ; 
however,  we  saw  the  Canada  de  San  Felipe.  There  is  no 
timber ; only  in  the  lowlands  we  observed  some  poplars. 
This  valley  is  three  leagues  long.  Going  to  the  right  we 
came  to  the  Canada  de  San  Dieguito,  where  we  found  fields 
belonging  to  Mission  San  Diego.  We  descended  on  the  right 
and  came  to  the  rancheria  of  Guichapa.  Farther  down, 
about  half  a league,  is  the  spring  called  Geenat,  farther 
below  called  Tatayojai,  where  is  the  house  known  as 
Elcuanam.  The  people  of  the  surrounding  rancherias 
were  already  assembled  there.  The  place  is  called  by  us 
Santa  Isabel.  We  stopped  after  having  wandered  up  and 
down  for  about  six  hours.  The  Christians  alone  number 
450  souls.  They  call  the  vicinity  Jamatai. 

“September  15. — The  other  half  of  Santa  Isabel  Valley 
to  the  north,  not  far  from  the  house  mentioned,  contains 
the  rancheria  of  Mucucuiz.  'Farther  north  toward  the  east 
is  another  rancheria  called  Getonopai.  A little  farther  on 
was  Egenal.  Going  west  we  came  to  Teguilque  and  Gecuar. 
The  people  from  all  these  rancherias  came  to  Elcuanam 
before  mentioned.  It  was  said  that  in  the  assembly  on  that 
occasion  the  Christians  with  the  pagans  numbered  about 
650  souls. 

“In  the  evening  of  this  day,  September  15,  which  was  a 
Saturday,  Fr.  Comisario  Mariano  Payeras  planted  and 


200  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


blessed  the  Cross  in  front  of  the  chapel  door,  assisted  by 
myself,  six  soldiers,  two  retired  soldiers,  and  about  600 
Christian  and  pagan  Indians,  all  of  whom  venerated  the 
Cross  by  kissing  it  after  their  own  manner.  The  Fr. 
Comisario  Prefecto  also  baptized  four  children  of  pagan 
parents.  We  were  then  regaled  with  bread  made  of 
mesquite  beans,  the  taste  of  which  was  not  bad  at  all.  The 
Indians  are  fond  of  it,  anyway. 

“September  16. — The  day  began  with  rain  which  continued 
all  day.  The  Fr.  Prefecto  sang  a High  Mass  during  which 
he  also  preached.  Afterwards  we  visited  the  sick. 

“September  17. — The  Fr.  Prefecto  started  very  early, 
going  northward  to  Jacopin  or  Agua  Caliente,  about  four 
leagues  and  a half  distant  from  Santa  Isabel  or  Elcuanam. 
I could  not  accompany  him  on  account  of  illness.  After 
about  a league,  he  arrived  at  a spring  near  which  the 
pagans  have  their  cornfields  and  a rancheria  called  Ajata. 
The  Fr.  Prefecto  named  the  place  Las  Llagas,  on  account 
of  the  feast  of  the  day.  It  is  on  the  road  going  down 
from  the  Valley  of  San  Jose.  There  is  good  soil ; also  some 
timber  of  the  alder  and  live  oak  kind.  About  a league  and 
a half  beyond,  is  another  perennial  spring  called  Buena 
Vista,  near  which  are  small  marshes.  About  a league  and 
a half  to  the  east  is  Agua  Caliente,  called  by  the  Indians 
Jacopin.  The  water  there  is  in  such  a location  that  by 
collecting  it  reservoirs  could  with  little  labor  be  made 
useful  for  one  purpose  or  other. 

“The  water  is  exceedingly  warm ; but  there  is  cold  water 
so  near  that  a person  can  put  one  hand  in  cold  water 
while  the  other  is  in  the  warm  water.  In  parts,  the  soil 
is  not  bad.  There  is  some  alder  timber.  Toward  the  north 
there  are  live  oaks,  and  in  the  same  valley  there  are  poplars 
and  willows.  To  the  north,  the  soil  appears  to  be  poor;  but 
toward  the  south  and  west,  it  is  excellent.  This  evening 
the  Fr.  Comisario  returned  to  Santa  Isabel  at  about  7 o’clock. 

“September  18. — We  passed  the  day  partly  in  writing  and 
partly  in  administering  the  Sacraments,  besides  giving  in- 
structions in  catechism.  A poor  woman  broke  her  arm. 


Mission  San  Diego 


201 


The  Fr.  Prefecto  with  his  servant  Jose  reset  and  bandaged 
it ; at  the  same  time,  he  instructed  her  and  because  he  thought 
her  in  danger  of  death  on  account  of  her  advanced  age, 
ninety  years  in  my  opinion,  he  baptized  her.  In  the  after- 
noon, came  thirteen  Indians,  men  and  women,  the  youngest 
of  whom  exceeded  sixty  years  of  age.  Fr.  Payeras  gave 
them  catechetical  instructions  in  preparation  for  their 
Baptism  on  the  next  day. 

‘‘September  19. — Very  early,  after  he  had  celebrated  holy 
.Mass,  the  Fr.  Prefecto  again  instructed  the  old  men  and 
women,  and  then  baptized  them,  finishing  the  task  by 
about  11  a.m.  In  the  afternoon,  we  set  out  on  the  same 
road  that  leads  to  Jacopin.  We  again  passed  Las  Llagas, 
which  name  the  Fr.  Prefecto  had  given  to  Ajata.  Going 
north  we  came  to  a little  elevation,  having  been  on  the 
road  about  two  hours  and  a half  before  reaching  the 
rancheria  situated  on  said  elevation.  Continuing  north- 
west we  discovered  some  springs.  The  locality  appeared 
suitable  for  a mission,  wherefore  the  Fr.  Prefecto  ordered 
a Cross  to  be  set  up  east  of  the  elevation.  He  then  blessed 
it  with  my  assistance  and  in  presence  of  those  accompaning 
us.  There  are  many  springs  which  may  suffice  to  irrigate 
the  beautiful  table  land  which  they  dominate.  The  Indians 
of  this  region  possess  an  abundance  of  seeds  which  they 
obtain  after  their  own  manner.  The  valley  may  be  more 
than  three  leagues  in  length  and  in  parts  more  than  two 
leagues  in  width.  From  Santa  Isabel  to  this  locality,  or 
Guadalupe,  for  so  the  Fr.  Prefecto  christened  the  place,  the 
distance  may  be  two  leagues  and  a half.  All  the  Indians 
here  wanted  a mission.  To  the  east  of  Santa  Isabel,  which 
I forgot  to  note  at  the  time,  at  a distance  of  six  or  seven 
leagues  there  are  ten  rancherias  comprising  perhaps  450 
souls.” 

From  Guadalupe  the  two  Fathers  and  their  guards  went 
toward  the  west  for  twelve  leagues,  and  then  reached  San 
Antonio  de  Pala,  in  the  evening  of  the  same  September  20. 
The  Fr.  Comisario  with  Fr.  Sanchez  extended  their  journey 
of  exploration  as  far  as  Mission  San  Gabriel.  Here  on 


202  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

October  1,  1821,  Fr.  Sanchez  closed  his  diary  and  returned 
to  San  Diego.6 

On  various  dates  from  March  to  May,  1822,  all  the 
Franciscans  took  the  oath  of  independence  from  Spain  and 
of  allegiance  to  the  government  established  by  General 
Iturbide  in  Mexico.  At  San  Diego,  the  Fathers  Fernando 
Martin  and  Jose  Sanchez  swore  allegiance  on  Saturday, 
April  20.7  The  Supreme  Government  somewhat  distrusted 
the  attitude  of  California.  Accordingly,  it  sent  a commis- 
sioner in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  Agustin  Fernandez,  whose 
task  it  was  to  secure  the  loyalty  of  the  territory.8  He  did 
not  visit  San  Diego,  nor  did  any  of  his  acts  concern  this 
mission  in  particular,  save  that,  like  all  others,  it  had  to 
transmit  a report  regarding  its  condition  and  the  extent 
of  the  land  it  occupied  or  cultivated.  Such  a report  was 
drawn  up,  and  it  follows  here  entire  because  of  its  highly 
important  contents. 

“State  of  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  in  Upper  California 
in  compliance  with  the  points  which  the  Rev.  Agustin 
Fernandez  de  San  Vicente,  Commissioned  by  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Regency  to  the  Two  Californias,  requested 
of  the  prefecture  of  this  Territory. 

“Location,  Geographical. — The  Mission  of  San  Diego, 
which  is  situated  in  32  degrees  north  latitude,  lies  south 
of  the  capital  of  this  territory  (the  presidio  of  Monterey) 
at  a distance  of  170  leagues.  To  the  east,  at  a distance  of  9 
leagues  is  the  Sierra  Madre,  on  the  summit  of  which,  at  a 
distance  of  17  leagues,  is  an  establishment  founded  with 
the  permission  of  both  authorities  under  the  title  of  Santa 
Isabel  and  comprising  a chapel,  a cemetery,  and  various 
habitations  and  granaries.  At  this  establishment  are  450 
adults  and  children,  instructed  in  the  Christian  Faith, 
baptized,  domesticated  as  far  as  possible,  and  trained  some- 
what in  agriculture  and  other  suitable  crafts.  Within  a 

6 Fr.  Sanchez,  Diario  de  la  Caminata,  in  Santa  Barbara  Mission 
Archives.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  142-145. 

7 Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Sacramento,  xviii,  24-25. 

s See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  150-158,  for  details. 


Mission  San  Diego 


203 


circumference  of  12  leagues  in  every  direction  from  said 
establishment  are  about  2,000  gentiles,  old  and  young,  but 
quiet  and  peaceful,  a fact  I myself  have  witnessed.  On  the 
various  occasions  that  I was  among  them,  I have  not 
observed  the  least  excitement.  Furthermore,  since  the  said 
establishment  was  placed  there,  no  hostile  incursions  have 
been  experienced. 

“To  the  south  of  this  Mission,  at  a distance  of  16  leagues, 
is  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel  Arcangel  of  Lower  California. 
In  this  district  there  are  some  pagan  rancherias  but  of  little 
importance  as  to  numbers. 

“To  the  northwest  of  this  Mission,  at  a distance  of  two 
leagues  lies  the  imperial9  presidio  under  the  same  title  as  this 
Mission.  It  has  a good  harbor,  and  at  a distance  of  three 
leagues  and  a half  is  a sufficiently  strong  fortification. 

“To  the  north  of  this  Mission,  at  a distance  of  14  leagues, 
is  located  Mission  San  Luis  Rey  de  Francia,  on  the  road 
to  which  there  are  no  pagans. 

“The  Cavalry  Troop. — The  Mission  has  from  the  company 
of  the  neighboring  presidio  a corporal  and  five  soldiers, 
which  number  the  commander  of  the  said  presidio  increases 
or  decreases  according  to  occurrences  and  military  operations. 

“ Inhabitants . — Of  these  military  men  two  are  married  and 
their  families  live  here.  There  are  two  married  mayordomos 
with  their  families,  who  are  employed  in  overseeing  the 
agriculture  and  have  charge  of  the  farm  implements. 
Native  inhabitants  of  this  Mission,  including  those  of  the 
establishment  at  Santa  Isabel,  comprise  1,686  souls.  Of 
these  eighteen  are  runaways,  whose  whereabouts  are  not 
known. 

“ Live  Stock. — There  are  340  tamed  horses ; seven  droves 
of  mares  with  burromeso,  which  with  their  young  number 
540.  There  are  200  tamed  and  untamed  mules,  8,600  cattle, 
and  19,000  sheep.  These  four  classes  of  animals  are  very 
well  adapted  and  necessary  for  this  country. 


9 The  use  of  this  term  was  owing  to  the  situation  in  Mexico,  Iturbide 
having  been  made  emperor. 


204  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“Extent  of  Lands . — The  land  of  this  mission  toward  the 
south  extends  a distance  of  13  leagues  to  the  place  called  El 
Rosario,  where  the  line  is  that  divides  Upper  and  Lower 
California.  These  lands  are  occupied  by  a ranch  for  the 
cattle  belonging  to  the  imperial  presidio  nearby,  for  which 
reason  the  property  of  these  natives  does  not  extend  in  that 
direction. 

“To  the  east,  this  mission  possesses  the  establishment  sit- 
uated in  the  Sierra  Madre  and  called  Santa  Isabel,  at  a 
distance  of  17  leagues.  To  the  north,  this  mission  possesses 
the  land  for  a distance  of  7 leagues  to  the  place  called  Canada 
de  San  Bernardo.  To  the  northwest  and  west,  this  mission 
possesses  no  land  whatsoever,  because  the  property  of  the 
imperial  presidio  and  of  its  settlers  with  the  horses  of  the 
troops  occupy  a considerable  part  of  the  lands  in  that  direc- 
tion. 

“The  soil  is  very  sterile,  and  most  of  it  is  covered  with 
( chamizales ) brushwood.  Only  when  it  rains  copiously  is 
it  pretty  well  covered  with  pasturage ; and  then  an  abundance 
of  grain  is  harvested,  that  is  to  say,  barley  and  wheat, 
which  suffices  for  the  sustenance  of  the  new  citizens,  with 
the  rations  of  meat  distributed  to  them  every  fifteen  days, 
that  is  to  say,  when  they  are  living  in  community;  for 
otherwise  they  do  not  enjoy  this  subsistence  in  sterile  years 
when  nothing  is  harvested.  Whatever  places  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  mission  are  serviceable,  are  cultivated 
in  the  years  when  there  is  sufficient  water,  for  there  is  no 
way  of  irrigating. 

“Silver  and  Gold  Mines. — None  have  been  discovered. 

“Placers. — None  have  been  discovered  on  this  coast,  nor 
have  tortoise  shells  been  found.  There  are  many  savory 
fishes,  and  some  otter  and  sea  wolves. 

“Harbors. — Besides  the  port  of  the  imperial  presidio,  there 
is  at  a distance  of  three  leagues  toward  the  north  an 
enseiiada  or  cove  called  San  Buenaventura,  where  one  may 
disembark  with  sufficient  ease,  without  being  seen  by  the 


M ission  San  Diego  205 

presidio  and  its  fortification. — San  Diego,  November  19, 
1822.  Fr.  Fernando  Martin.”  10 

As  was  already  stated,  Mexico  under  the  leadership  of 
General  Agustin  Iturbide  had  declared  itself  independent 
of  Spain.  But  the  new  order  of  things  lasted  only  a 
short  time.  Iturbide  was  crowned  emperor  on  July  21, 
1822,  and  on  March  19,  1823,  he  abdicated.  Commissioner 
Fernandez  visited  San  Diego  on  his  way  back  to  Mexico, 
and  stayed  during  the  last  week  of  November.  He  probably 
went  out  to  the  mission,  but  there  is  no  record  of  it.  Sola, 
the  last  Spanish  governor,  resigned  and  he  was  elected  to 
represent  California  in  the  Mexican  Congress.  He  departed 
with  Fernandez.  Captain  Luis  Argiiello  was  elected  tem- 
porary governor,  but  toward  the  end  of  October,  1825,  at 
San  Diego,  he  surrendered  the  office  to  Jose  M.  Echeandia', 
the  first  Mexican  governor.  Echeandia  made  San  Diego 
his  capital.  With  him  came  Agustin  V.  Zamorano,  as  secre- 
tary, Romualdo  Pacheco,  Captain  Pablo  de  Portilla,  Lieu- 
tenant Juan  M.  Ibarra,  Juan  Rocha,  Jose  M.  Herrera,  and 
a detachment  of  soldiers.* 11 

On  April  28,  1826,  Fr.  Antonio  Peyri  of  San  Luis  Rey 
Mission,  Fr.  Jose  Sanchez  of  San  Gabriel,  Fr.  Jose  Maria 
Zalvidea  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  Fr.  Fernando  Martin 
of  San  Diego  Mission,  answered  the  call  of  the  new 
governor  and  assembled  at  the  latter’s  quarters  in  San 
Diego.  Zamorano  and  the  alcalde  of  Los  Angeles  also  were 
present.  The  matter  discussed  was  the  new  constitution 
fabricated  in  Mexico  on  October  4,  1824.  The  Fathers,  who 
had  already  sworn  allegiance  to  the  first  independent  gov- 
ernment of  Mexico,  declined  to  take  an  absolute  oath  on 
another  constitution  that  warred  on  religious  Orders  and 
was  not  the  expression  of  the  will  of  the  people  of  Mexico, 
but,  like  all  constitutions  concocted  there  ever  since,  the 
product  of  a handful  of  ambitious  and  selfish  politicians. 


10  Informe,  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 

11  For  details  on  the  subject  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii, 
chap.  13. 


206  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Nevertheless,  remembering  the  words  of  St.  Paul  that  one 
must  be  subject  to  the  authorities  that  are  without  questioning 
as  to  how  they  obtained  their  offices,  the  Fathers  offered  to 
swear  obedience  to  the  constitution  in  everything  that  was 
compatible  with  their  ministry  and  religious  profession. 
But  this  did  not  satisfy  Echeandia  and  he  declared  that 
every  missionary  in  California  would  have  to  state  his 
views  in  writing. 

On  receiving  notice  from  Echeandia  to  this  effect,  Fr. 
Fernando  Martin,  under  date  of  May  23,  1826,  wrote : 

I,  Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  missionary  of  the  Mission  of  San  Diego, 
certify  that  I have  received  the  notice  of  the  comandante  of  this  presidio 
of  San  Diego  in  which  he  orders  that  I should  solemnize  the  occasion 
with  a High  Mass,  Te  Deum,  and  a discourse  in  keeping  with  the 
Oath,  which  the  troops  are  to  take  on  the  Federal  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  of  Mexico.  . . . 

The  reasons  I had  for  excusing  myself  from  solemnizing  said  oath 
as  ordered,  without  failing  in  the  respect,  submission,  and  obedience 
I owe  the  Mexican  Government,  were  the  following:  It  has  come  to 

my  knowledge  that  my  prelate  mentioned  before,  has  refused  the 
oath  on  the  Constitution  for  the  reason  set  forth  above,  and  also 
because  I knew  that  in  the  places  where  the  oath  should  have  been 
solemnized,  just  as  at  this  .presidio,  it  was  not  solemnized. 

However,  having  treated  about  the  matter  with  the  Coman dante- 
General  Echeandia,  we  agreed  that  he  would  send  me  an  official  notice 
and  that  I in  writing  give  the  reasons  for  excusing  myself  from 
solemnizing  said  oath  and  these  are  as  I have  exposed  in  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph.  . . . Fr.  Fernando  Martin. 

Under  date  of  June  7,  1826,  Fr.  Oliva  wrote  that  his 
conscience  did  not  allow  him  to  take  the  oath,  and  that 
he  would  gladly  suffer  banishment  therefor.12 

At  the  same  time,  already  advised  by  the  Mother  College, 
the  Fathers  offered  to  surrender  the  management  of  the 
mission  temporalities  at  once ; for  “some  prominent  Califor- 
niansBancroft  confesses,  “at  this  time  had  already  had 
their  eyes  on  the  mission  lands.” 13  “Moreover,”  Smythe 
puts  in,  “Mexico  had  friends  to  reward  as  well  as  enemies  to 

12  Archb.  Arch.,  nos.  1,823,  1,824. 

is  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  pp.  101-102.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries, 
vol.  iii,  pp.  238-239. 


Mission  San  Diego 


207 


punish.  Some  of  the  men  who  had  fought  its  battles,  and 
who  would  be  needed  to  fight  its  battles  again,  looked  with 
longing  eyes  on  the  rich  dominions  of  the  missions  and  began 
to  dream  of  founding  great  families  and  great  estates.  It 
was  a very  convenient  thing  to  be  able  to  pay  your  debts 
with  other  people’s  property.”  14  Smythe  here,  in  a nutshell, 
states  the  real  motive  for  the  opposition  to  the  missions  and 
missionaries  and  for  the  destruction  of  the  neophytes’ 
happy  homes,  reared  by  them  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Franciscans  with  ineffable  labor  and  patience. 

Echeandia  was  not  yet  ready  to  go  to  the  length  proposed 
by  the  Fathers ; for,  who  would  furnish  supplies  to  the 
indolent  military  if  the  missionaries  took  it  into  their  heads 
to  depart?  Nor  did  the  governor  think  it  safe  to  set  the 
Indians  free  at  once  and  let  them  provide  for  themselves. 
Moreover,  they  were  wanted  to  provide  the  soldiers  with 
the  necessaries  of  life.  The  Franciscans  advised  Echeandia 
to  make  experiments  with  only  a few  neophytes.  After  a 
long  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  set  such  Indians  free  in 
the  jurisdiction  of  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Diego  as  ap- 
peared capable  and  desired  it.  On  July  25,  1826,  Echeandia 
issued  a circular  emancipating  from  mission  tutelage  all 
such  Indians  as  might  be  found  qualified  to  become  Mexican 
citizens.  “The  natural  result  of  these  movements  in  behalf 
of  the  Indians,”  says  Hittell,  “was  to  make  them  restive 
and  more  or  less  disorderly.”  “As  might  be  expected,” 
Beechey  declares,  “the  few  neophytes  who  accepted  the 
proposition  soon  fell  into  excesses,  gambled  away  all  their 
property  and  were  compelled  to  beg  or  to  steal.”  15  Echeandia 
proposed  nothing  new.  Long  before  he  came  to  California, 
Indians  had  been  given  permission  to  take  up  land  and  live 
by  themselves  or  to  affiliate  with  other  missions.  For 
instance,  the  first  land  grant  on  a small  scale  was  made  at  the 
instance  of  Fr.  Serra  to  a couple  in  1773.  The  following  is 


i*  Smythe,  History  of  San  Diego,  vol.  pp.  71-72. 

is  For  details  and  references  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii. 


2o8  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

a similar  case.  “Jacobo  Niacopal  and  his  wife  Christiana 
Samanar,  neophytes,  ask  the  governor  for  license  to  sever 
their  connection  with  Mission  San  Diego  and  to  live  out- 
side. ” The  governor  referred  them  to  the  Fathers,  who 
both  recommended  that  the  pair  be  permitted  to  make  their 
living  by  their  own  labors.  This  is  dated  March  3,  1829  and 


EMANCIPATED  INDIANS  AND  DWELLING 


signed  by  Fathers  Martin  and  Oliva.16  Indeed,  the  Fathers 
were  willing  to  set  the  Indians  free  wherever  feasible.  What 
they  objected  to  was  that  this  be  done  promiscuously.  Most 
of  the  neophytes  were  not  as  yet  fit  for  such  a life  without 
supervision  and  guidance. 




is  Archb.  Arch.,  no.  2,053.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii, 
pp.  239-240. 


Mission  San  Diego 


209 


Echeandia  also  wanted  schools  conducted  in  each  mission 
and  wrote  to  that  effect  to  the  Fr.  Comisario  Prefecto  on 
July  3,  1827.  In  reply,  six  days  later,  Fr.  Sarria  wrote: 

You  deem  it  well  to  order  me  to  arrange  that  in  all  and  at  each 

of  the  missions  of  this  territory  primary  schools  be  established  and 

that,  of  course,  each  mission  give  the  teacher  a sufficient  salary,  who 

shall  take  care  to  give  suitable  instruction  and  to  teach  the  best 

morality.  Although  I desire  to  be  a punctual  observer  of  your 
orders,  yet  from  personal  knowledge  of  the  missions  in  their  present 
circumstances,  I'  do  not  consider  it  at  all  feasible  to  carry  out  exactly 
what  is  commanded,  at  least  not  in  every  particular.  However,  I shall 
assist,  as  is  just,  that  in  the  manner  possible  schools  may  be  estab- 
lished. I shall  notify  all  and  every  one  of  the  missions  by  means 
of  a circular  of  this  same  date.i7 

Similarly,  the  missionaries,  thirty  years  before  the  arrival 
of  Echeandia,  had  expressed  their  willingness  to  assist  in 
establishing  schools,  and  privately  they  taught  some  of  the 
more  talented  and  industrious  boys  to  read  so  that  they 
might  be  able  to  serve  at  the  altar  or  sing  in  the  choir. 
But,  then  as  now,  to  open  schools,  before  professional  teach- 
ers and  the  means  to  support  them  could  be  procured,  was 
out  of  the  question.  The  governor  realizing  the  difficulties 
directed  that  where  no  teachers  could  be  secured  those  of 
the  neophytes  who  could  read  and  write  should  act  as 
teachers,  one  for  every  ten  pupils.18 

In  the  face  of  these  facts,  Smythe  writes: 

The  friars  were  not  merely  indifferent  to  the  education  of  the 
Indians — they  w'ere  inflexibly  opposed  to  it.  Not  even  favorite 
neophytes  were  permitted  to  learn  to  read,  and  their  servants  learned 
only  such  things  as  would  aid  them  in  providing  for  their  masters’ 
eomfort.i9 

Echeandia  had  collected  a list  of  all  the  Indians  who 
could  read  and  write.  Of  course,  they  were  comparatively 
few ; but  still  there  were  such ; otherwise  he  could  not 
have  ordered  those  same  Indians  to  act  as  teachers,  wherever 


17  Archb.  Arch.,  no.  1,941.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii, 
p.  242. 

is  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  241-242. 

19  History  of  San  Diego,  vol.  i,  p.  179. 


210  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

no  professional  teachers  could  be  had.  If  Smythe  and  the 
whole  tribe  of  ignorant  and  malevolent  mission  critics  had 
read  the  history  of  education  from  its  earliest  days,  they 
would  have  known  that  the  monks  were  at  all  times  the 
very  ones  who  fostered  a knowledge  of  reading  and  writing 
and  of  very  much  more.  As  early  as  1525  and  later,  the 
very  Franciscan  friars,  whom  in  the  above  paragraph 
Smythe  calumniates,  gathered  the  boys  of  Mexico  at  the 
schools  conducted  in  connection  with  their  monasteries  and 
taught  them  reading,  writing,  and  singing.  Often  as  many 
as  600  and  800  boys  received  an  elementary  education  under 
the  same  roof  from  the  Franciscan  friars.  In  1531,  the 
first  nuns,  Poor  Clares,  arrived  in  Mexico  City  and  taught 
girls  and  young  ladies.  The  young  Indian  ladies  would 
frequently  become  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
and  did  for  the  girls  what  the  Franciscan  Fathers  and 
Brothers  did  for  the  boys.  The  so-called  Anglo-Saxons, 
who  always  appear  to  imagine  that  they  possess  a mortgage 
on  book-learning  and  on  higher  education,  would  do  well 
to  study  history;  it  would  make  them  less  conceited.  The 
Spaniards  in  America  were  far  ahead,  indeed,  almost  a 
century,  of  the  English  in  establishing  universities.20 

What  was  possible  in  Mexico,  however,  was  not  possible 
in  California.  To  reach  the  incomparably  lower  classes  of 
savages  on  the  coast  it  was  necessary  to  provide  them  with 
food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  and  to  teach  them  industry,  all 
of  which  the  Indians  in  Mexico  had  provided  for  themselves 
before  Cortes  arrived.  Hence  it  was  that  the  Franciscans, 
on  reaching  California,  segregated  the  convert  Indians  from 
their  wild,  unspeakably  vile,  and  unwilling  savage  tribesmen 
and  introduced  the  great  manual  training  schools  where 
agriculture,  mechanical  arts,  and  stock-raising  were  taught 
on  a grand  scale.  It  was  the  education  most  suitable  for 
the  Indian,  since  it  prepared  him  for  the  life  he  would  have 
to  lead  in  the  event  of  his  being  put  in  charge  of  his  own 


20  See  Missions  and  Missionaries , vol.  i,  p.  13.  The  University  of 
Lima,  Peru,  was  established  in  1558 ; that  of  Harvard,  Mass.,  in  1636. 


Mission  San  Diego 


21 1 


property.  This  was  the  training  which  the  United  States 
found  so  suitable  that  it  adopted  the  system  in  its  own 
reservation  schools.  If,  generally  speaking,  the  education 
at  that  time  went  no  further,  the  fault  lay  solely  with  the 
dullness  of  the  Indians  and  the  lack  of  means.  Smythe 
himself  21  notes  the  difficulties  encountered  by  Echeandia  in 
his  efforts  to  open  schools  for  the  children  of  the  settlers, 
who,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  cared  naught  for  any 
kind  of  education.  “He  engaged  the  services  of  two  teachers 
for  primary  schools  before  he  came  to  California;  but  when 
they  reached  Acapulco  they  could  proceed  no  farther  be- 
cause the  province  was  unable  to  pay  their  passage  to 
Monterey.  Shortly  after  Echeandia’s  arrival,  the  assembly, 
at  the  governor’s  suggestion,  requested  the  (Mexican)  gov- 
ernment to  send  a few  masters  for  primary  schools,  at  his 
own  cost ; but  this  request  was  refused.”  All  the  governors 
experienced  similar  obstacles,  but  on  the  part  of  their  own 
people  and  not  on  the  part  of  the  friars,  despite  Smythe. 
The  missionaries  would  have  welcomed  schools  if  regular 
teachers  of  moral  conduct  had  been  available.  They  could 
have  been  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  the  missionaries ; 
but  such  assistance  had  been  expected  from  the  guards,  too. 
What  resulted  from  the  presence  of  immoral  soldiers,  how- 
ever, is  sufficiently  known  and  need  not  be  entered  on  here. 
Better  the  children  without  teachers  than  with  teachers  of 
such  a character. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  face  of  these  historical  facts,  Smythe 
gives  vent  to  his  unthinking  innate  prejudice  in  this  wise: 

The  storv  of  the  struggle  for  education  is  a pathetic  page  in 
early  California  history.  The  governors  were  in  favor  of  education, 
as  a rule,  but  they  received  no  support  whatever  from  the  missionaries, 
and  almost  none  from  the  other  inhabitants.  It  was,  indeed,  the 
deliberate  policy  of  Spain  to  keep  its  colonial  subjects  in  ignorance, 
on  the  mistaken  theory  that  this  would  prevent  the  growth  of  dis- 
content. . . . The  missionaries  were  at  all  times  firmly  opposed  to 
popular  education,  which  now  seems  to  us  a singular  thing  when  it 
is  remembered  that  they  were  men  of  culture;  but  this  was  entirely 


21  'History  of  San  Diego , vol.  ii,  p.  569. 


212  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

consistent  with  the  policy  of  the  Church  and  of  £>pain,  at  the 
time.  . . . The  wily  missionaries  professed  obedience,  but  soon  found 
an  excuse  for  non-compliance  in  a mythical  lack  of  funds.  . . . Sola 
was  earnest  in  his  desire  to  aid  the  cause  of  education.  . . . The 
missionaries  were  hostile.22 

Every  statement  made  in  this  quotation,  save  the  two  that 
“the  governors  were  in  favor  of  education/’  and  that  “the 
missionaries  were  men  of  culture,”  is  absolutely  false  and 
unworthy  of  a man  of  education.  It  shows  not  only  the 
inexcusable  ignorance  of  the  author,  but  his  blind  prejudice, 
as  well.  In  all  fairness,  since  he  insists  that  it  is  the  business 
of  the  Church  to  teach  the  three  R’s,  Smythe  on  his  part 
should  state  in  detail  what  non-Catholic  denominations, 
especially  his  own,  have  done  and  are  doing  in  the  line  of 
primary  education;  and  then  he  should  put  the  result  side  by 
side  with  the  activity  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  that  respect. 
What,  right  here  in  San  Diego,  is  his  denomination,  or  all 
non-Catholic  denominations  together,  doing  in  that  line 
independent  of  State  support?  If  the  Catholic  Church  is 
under  obligation  to  teach  its  children  reading  and  writing 
and  arithmetic,  why  should  not  other  churches  be  held  to 
perform  the  same  duty  regarding  their  children?  Which 
organization,  therefore,  manifests  more  solicitude  on  that 
subject?  There  is  something  said  somewhere  about  living 
in  glass  houses  ^nd  throwing  stones.  Let  there  be  an  end 
to  the  nonsensical  charge  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  or 
ever  was  opposed  to  education,  and  that  she  wilfully  keeps 
her  members  ignorant.  History  demonstrates  that  the  re- 
verse is  true.  Only  the  wilfully  blind  persist  in  repeating 
the  calumny. 

The  change  from  Spanish  to  Mexican  rule,  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  a Mexican  as  governor,  did  not  make  a change 
for  the  better  in  the  conditions  of  the  soldiers,  much  less 
in  the  life  of  the  missions.  No  salaries  were  received  for 
the  guards  nor  for  the  missionaries  any  stipends  from  the 


22  History  of  San  Diego,  vol.  ii,  pp.  568-569.  See  Appendix  D. 


Mission  San  Diego 


213 


Pious  Fund.23  The  soldiers  and  their  families  continued 
destitute.  The  consequence  was  that  every  soldier  and 
every  official  expected  to  be  supported  by  the  mission  Indians 
under  the  supervision  of  the  poor  missionaries.  The  com- 
mander of  the  presidio  admitted  that  the  missions  contributed 
all  they  could ; but  for  the  years  1822-1825  not  even  the 
usual  drafts  on  Mexico  had  been  forthcoming.  On  October 
6,  1826,  therefore,  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  wrote  to  Governor 
Echeandia : 

I see  myself  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  Your  Honor  so  that  you 
may  direct  the  habilitados  (storekeepers)  to  deliver  the  drafts  for 
what  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  has  furnished  to  the  troops  of  this 
comandancia  with  so  much  hardship  and  toil  of  the  poor  neophytes. 
It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  in  accordance  with  reason  that,  because 
of  the  sloth  or  negligence  of  said  storekeepers,  what  is  in  justice  due 
to  this  mission  should  be  lost.  I would  not  have  taken  the  pen  in 
my  hand  to  write  to  Your  Honor  to  compel  them,  if  they  had  paid 
any  attention  to  me  the  many  times  that  I have  appealed  to  them 
to  transmit  the  drafts  to  me.  ...  24 

The  drafts  produced  no  money,  but  they  were  evidence  of 
what  the  mission  had  done  for  the  soldiers,  who  everlastingly 
clamored  for  more  and  more,  without  even  a word  of  thanks. 

Under  date  of  April  30,  1826,  FF.  Martin  and  Oliva  wrote 
to  the  Comandante  General  Echeandia,  informing  him  that: 

Citizen  Gil,  native  of  Mission  San  Diego  and  carpenter  by  trade, 
desires  to  separate  himself  from  said  Mission  where  he  is  now,  in 
order  to  go  where  he  can  exercise  his  trade  with  adequate  profit.  In 
complying  with  the  petition  presented  by  Gil  Ricla  on  April  4,  1826, 
we  have  to  say  that  he  is  a Christian  from  his  infancy,  having  been 
born  at  the  Mission  of  parents  who  are  Christians  of  long  standing, 
that  he  is  of  regular  conduct,  married  to  Pia  who  was  baptized  at 
Mission  San  Luis  Key.  He  is  29  years  of  age  and  has  three  children. 
His  trade  is  that  of  carpenter  by  means  of  which  he  maintains 
himself  in  some  comfort.  Therefore  he  has  our  leave  to  separate 
himself  from  the  Mission. 


23  For  details  on  the  Pious  Fund  see  Missions  and  Missionaries, 
vol.  i,  last  chapter,  and  vols.  ii-iv,  with  help  of  Index. 

. 24  ArcJib.  Arch.,  no.  1,836. 


214  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


The  Governor  being  at  San  Diego  at  the  time,  granted  the 
permission  on  the  same  day,  April  30,  through  Agustin 
Zamorano.25 

Another  letter  of  Fr.  Martin  to  Echeandia,  alluding  to  the 
situation  at  Santa  Isabel,  is  of  interest  for  that  mission 
station.  He  writes : 

I have  to  say  that  we  shall  most  gladly  comply  with  your  dis- 
position that  we  should  order,  at  Santa  Isabel  as  well  as  at  Santa 
Monica,  food  to  be  given  to  all  the  gentile  Indians  who  go  to  live 
at  Santa  Isabel  and  Santa  Monica  in  order  to  work  equally  with  the 
Christians  of  both  places.  This  morning,  Fr.  Antonio  Menendez 
notified  me  that  you  wish  me  to  go  out  and  assist  the  culprit  who 
is  to  be  executed.  I should  readily  go  if  my  companion  were  here ; 
but  as  he  is  absent,  I can  not  leave  the  Mission  alone.  For  this 
reason  Fr.  Antonio  has  offered  to  exercise  the  ministry  which  I ought 
to  perform  at  the  port  early  to-morrow  morning.  San  Diego  Mission, 
April  13,  1826. — Fr.  Fernando  Martin.26 


25  Archb.  Arch.,  no.  1,817. 

26  ArcKb.  Arch.,  no.  1,818. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Change  of  Commander  at  Presidio. — Visit  of  Duhaut-Cilly. — Robin- 
son’s Visit. — James  Pattie’s  Visit  and  False  Statements. — Extent  of 
Mission  Lands. — Live  Stock. — Fr.  Menendez,  O.  P.,  Chaplain  at 
Presidio. — Echeandia’s  High-handed  Dealing. — Celebration  on  Elec- 
tion of  Pope  Leo  XII. — Indian  Land  Coveted. — Missionaries  Resist 
Strenuously. — Mission  Ranchos. — Change  in  Government. — Victoria 
Arrives. — Pio  Pico  and  Clique. — Revolt  Against  Governor  Victoria. 
— He  Resigns. — Embarks  at  San  Diego. — New  Governor. — Echean- 
dia’s  Trickery. — FF.  Martin  and  Oliva  to  Echeandia. — Mission  Re- 
ports Cease. — Confiscation  Decreed. — Figueroa  at  San  Diego.— 
Neophytes  Decline  Freedom. — San  Dieguito. — Fr.  Duran  at  the 
Mission. — Warns  Figueroa. — Mission  Confiscated. — Inventories. 

IN  1827,  Captain  Jose  Maria  Estudillo  succeeded  Captain 
Francisco  Maria  Ruiz  as  commander  of  the  presidio. 
Ruiz  was  then  seventy-three  years  of  age  and  had  never 
been  married.  He  died  in  1839.  On  April  8,  1830,  Captain 
Estudillo  departed  this  life.  He  was  buried  the  next  day 
in  the  presidio  chapel.  Lieutenant  Santiago  Argiiello  was 
placed  in  command  and  named  captain  in  1831. 

Between  1825  and  1830,  retired  soldiers  and  officers 
generally  moved  down  from  the  hill.  Bancroft  thinks  that 
there  were  probably  no  houses  on  the  beach  in  1821  and 
few  in  1825. 

The  horses  and  cattle,  of  the  military  grazed  in  a district 
called  La  Purisima  or  Rancho  del  Rey,  later  known  as 
Rancho  Nacional.1 

The  French  navigator,  A.  Duhaut-Cilly,  who  visited  the 
port  of  San  Diego  in  April,  1827,  describes  it  at  great  length, 
declaring  that  it  is  the  best  harbor  in  whole  California.  His 
opinion  of  the  town  and  presidio  is  quite  the  reverse,  how- 
ever. “A  sad  place  is  the  presidio  of  San  Diego,”  he  writes, 
“the  saddest  of  all  that  we  have  visited  in  California  with 
the  exception  of  that  of  San  Pedro,  which  is  entirely  a 


i Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  pp.  538-547. 


216  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

desert.  It  is  built  on  the  slope  of  an  arid  hill  and  has  no 
regular  form.  It  is  a shapeless  mass  of  houses,  all  the  more 
gloomy  on  account  of  the  dark  color  of  the  bricks  of  which 
they  are  rudely  constructed.  Nevertheless,  it  was  at  that 
time  the  seat  of  the  government.  Below  the  presidio  on 
a sandy  plain  are  seen  scattered  thirty  or  forty  houses  of 
poor  appearance  and  a few  gardens  badly  cultivated.  Yet  it 
is  the  seat  of  the  governor.” 

Regarding  the  mission,  the  Frenchman  has  this  to  say: 
“Mission  San  Diego  is  situated  about  two  leagues  from  the 
presidio.  I went  there  on  the  morning  of  our  arrival.  . . At 

the  time,  it  was  in  charge  of  Fathers  Vicente  (Oliva)  and 

Fernando  (Martin).  It  is  not  very  rich,  although  it  num- 
bers a thousand  Indians,  possesses  12,000  head  of  cattle, 
10,000  sheep,  2,000  pigs,  and  a proportionate  number  of 
horses  and  mules.2  At  a distance  the  place  is  by  no  means 
ugly  in  appearance,  but  this  diminishes  the  nearer  one 
approaches,  because  the  buildings,  though  well  arranged,  are 
poorly  kept  and  in  part  are  in  ruins.  A musty  smell  pene- 
trates even  the  quarters  of  the  Fathers.  Fr.  Vicente  and 

Fr.  Fernando  are  so  accustomed  to  the  disagreeable  odors 
that  they  make  nothing  of  them.  Toward  us,  however,  they 
showed  themselves  as  kind  as  they  were  dirty.” 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  if  the  neophytes  were  to  pro- 
duce anything,  the  poor  Fathers  had  to  labor  with  them  at 
every  kind  of  work.  Like  boys,  the  Indians  needed  the 
master  around ; else  little  work  would  be  done.  Even  at 
the  present  day,  those  who  hire  Indians  know  this  very 
well.  The  missionaries  were  probably  in  a hurry,  too.  It 
was  the  month  of  April  when  the  Frenchman  made  his 
unannounced  visit,  a time  when  planting  had  to  be  done 
or  the  fields  had  to  be  irrigated.  Surely,  the  Fathers  had 
ample  excuse  for  not  wearing  their  Sunday  clothes.  The 


2 The  highest  number  of  live  stock  ever  owned  by  Mission  San  Diego 
was  as  follows:  Cattle,  9,245  head,  in  1822;  Sheep,  19,654,  in  1825; 
Horses,  1,250,  in  1830;  Mules,  295,  in  1822;  Pigs,  120,  in  1815. 


218  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


incident  shows  any  way  that,  unlike  the  soldiers,  the  mis- 
sionaries were  not  ashamed  to  do  manual  labor,  much  less 
afraid  to  lose  esteem  and  respect  of  the  neophytes,  in  conse- 
quence. 

“The  Fathers  were  about  to  sit  down  to  dinner,  and  so 
they  invited  us  to  dine  with  them.  What  they  offered  us 
was  not  at  all  appetizing,  and  so  when  Fr.  Vicente  in  vain 
urged  us  to  eat,  Fr.  Fernando  exclaimed,  ‘This  is  certainly 
something  remarkable,  that  neither  of  you  wants  to  eat  at 
our  table.  Of  course,  the  air  of  the  Mission  is  not  favor- 
able for  the  stomach  of  foreigners  V Having  said  this, 
he  prepared  a salad  of  cold  meat  mixed  with  onions,  Indian 
pepper,  and  olive  oil  from  the  mission.  This  oil  tasted  so 
rancid  that  it  rasped  the  throat.  Afterwards,  not  having 
a knife,  the  good  Father  divided  the  meat  with  his  fingers 
and  even  with  his  teeth,  which  operation  made  the  meat 
still  more  repulsive.  Then  he  put  the  whole  mass  with 
both  hands  on  a plate  from  which  a piece  had  been  broken 
off  and  which  still  had  remains  of  a preceding  meal.  We 
wanted  to  laugh,  but  the  stomach,  served  with  such  a 
solemn  filth,  objected.  Meanwhile,  my  traveling  companion, 
a young  Californian,  not  at  all  disgusted  with  such  a 
repugnant  banquet,  was  laying  in  as  if  he  were  to  be  paid 
for  cleaning  away  all  that  was  placed  before  him.  ‘That  is 
an  appetite,  indeed,’  said  Fr.  Fernando.”  3 

Poor  Frenchman ! He  was  not  cut  out  to  be  a missionary 
among  the  Indians  where  there  are  no  French  cooks  to 
prepare  dainty  meals.  For  this  only  Indian  youths  were 
available,  and  doubtless  the  Fathers  themselves,  at  first  any 
way,  would  loathe  the  stuff  that  the  simplicity  and  ignorance 
of  their  dusky  cooks  would  set  before  them.  Moreover, 
the  Frenchman  should  have  announced  himself  and  not 
dropped  in  just  as  the  helpless  friars  were  sitting  down  to 
dinner.  We  imagine  that  they  chuckled  within  themselves 


3 “Eso,  si,  es  gana.  ” — Duhaut-Cilly,  Voyage  Around  the  World, 
Italian  edition,  Turin,  1841,  vol.  ii,  pp.  19-21. 


Mission  San  Diego 


219 


over  the  discomfiture  of  the  Frenchman,  who  manifested  so 
little  consideration  and  good  breeding  as  to  drop  in  upon 
them  for  a splendid  dinner  when  they  had  their  busiest  day. 
Potluck,  really.  It  will  be  remembered,  too,  that  at  this 
stage  all  the  missions  were  in  sore  distress,  because  they  had 
first  to  provide  without  compensation  for  the  whole  military 
of  California.  The  missionaries  and  their  neophytes  could 
sate  their  hunger  on  what  was  left  and  from  broken  plates, 
too.  Besides,  since  the  Californian  who  accompanied  the 
navigator  ate  with  such  relish  it  would  seem  that  the 
fastidious  Frenchman  exaggerated  somewhat. 

Contrast  his  description  with  Alfred  Robinson’s  account 
of  a visit  which  he  made  at  the  same  mission  but  two 
years  later,  1829.  He  writes : “The  author  and  his  special 
friend  . . . reached  the  Mission,  where  they  met  the  two 
Father  Missionaries  at  the  door,  they  having  just  returned 
from  a walk  around  the  premises.  The  visitors  were 
welcomed,  and  alighted  to  have  half  an  hour’s  chat  before 
dinner — that  is,  before  twelve  o’clock,  their  usual  hour  for 
that  meal ; and  accordingly  sat  down  on  one  of  the  rude 
benches  so  generally  found  at  all  these  establishments.  The 
author’s  friend,  being  an  old  acquaintance  of  the  Fathers, 
had  considerable  to  say  to  them.  At  length  the  church  bells 
announced  the  hour  of  noon,  when  both  the  holy  friars 
turned  around,  and  knelt  upon  the  bench  on  which  they 
had  been  sitting,  with  faces  turned  to  the  building,  while 
three  or  four  young  pages  (Indian  servants)  knelt  by  their 
side,  on  the  pavement,  when  the  elder  of  the  two  friars 
commenced  the  Angelas  Domini,  in  a very  devout  manner, 
and  led  the  prayer,  which  was  responded  to  by  the  brother 
friar  and  the  pages,  the  bells  of  the  church  chiming  an 
accompaniment.  . . Dinner  was  now  announced,  when  they 
entered  through  the  large  reception-room  into  the  dining- 
room, where  the  table  was  spread,  at  which  they  sat  down, 
and  had  an  entertainment  of  the  usual  guisados,  their  fritos 
and  azados,  frijoles,  and  the  universal  tortilla  de  maiz,  and 
plenty  of  good  native  wine,  with  the  usual  dessert  of  fruits 
peculiar  to  the  climate ; after  which  the  old  friars  retired  to 


220  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

take  their  siesta,  and  the  author  and  his  friend  hurried 
away  on  their  return  to  the  town,  where  they  arrived  after 
an  hour’s  ride.” 

An  amusing  incident  which  Robinson  relates  in  connec- 
tion with  this  visit  must  not  be  omitted,  for  it  has  its 
lesson.  “During  the  prayer,”  he  says,  “a  large  fly  alighted 
on  the  wall  just  in  front  of  the  Father,  who,  apparently 
without  any  attention  to  the  prayer,  was  watching  the  course 
of  the  fly  and  following  it  with  the  large  round  head  of 
his  cane,  as  it  moved  about,  sometimes  up,  sometimes  down, 
sometimes  to  the  right,  sometimes  to  the  left,  and  ready 
to  annihilate  it,  when,  at  the  closing  of  the  prayer,  and 
pronouncing  the  word  Amen ! Jesus ! he  brought  his  cane 
down  on  the  poor  fly  and  crushed  it,  and  then  turned  around 
to  renew  the  conversation,  as  though  nothing  had  happened. 
This  incident  was  amusing  to  the  beholder,  but  serves  to 
show  the  simplicity  of  the  Reverend  Father,  who  was  prob- 
ably not  aware  of  having  committed  an  impropriety.” 
Robinson  may  have  exaggerated  somewhat,  as  is  his  wont ; 
however,  he  noticed  that  the  Father  yielded  to  a distraction. 
But  what  about  Robinson  himself?  He  certainly  was  not 
absorbed  in  the  prayer ; otherwise  he  would  not  have 
observed  the  impropriety.  So  by  criticising  the  friar,  he 
gives  himself  away,  a not  uncommon  occurrence.  Sapienii 
sat ! 4 

Sylvester  Pattie,  a Kentuckian,  with  his  son  James  and 
six  other  Easteners,  all  trappers,  arrived  at  San  Diego  in 
March,  1828.  Echeandia  had  suspicions  and  placed  them  in 
jail.  Here  the  elder  Pattie  took  sick  and  died.  The  others 
were  thereupon  set  free.  Young  Pattie  wrote  a book  on 
his  experiences,  in  which  he  rails  against  Echeandia,  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  Catholics.  However,  Smythe  says : “Con- 
siderable doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  Pattie’s  veracity, 
and  the  present  writer  cannot  vouch  for  it  all.  Indeed, 
it  seems  highly  probable  that  the  party  was  not  at  all 


4 Alfred  Robinson,  Life  in  California,  pp.  262-265. 


Mission  San  Diego 


221 


badly  treated  at  San  Diego.  ...  It  seems  that  young  Pattie 
or,  more  probably,  the  man  who  wrote  his  ‘Narrative,’  had 
an  unreasoning  hatred  of  Catholics  and  Spaniards,  and  the 
whole  book  is  colored  by  it.  For  instance,  he  entirely  sup- 
pressed the  fact  which  is  well  authenticated  that  the  elder 
Pattie  became  a Catholic  before  his  death  and  was  buried  in 
consecrated  ground  on  the  Presidio  Hill.”  5 In  his  Personal 
Narrative,  Pattie  writes,  “In  the  course  of  the  night  he 
(Echcandia)  received  a letter  containing  information  of  the 
death  of  one  of  the  priests,  and  that  a great  number  were 
ill  of  the  small  pox.  . . On  the  18th  of  January,  1829,  I 
began  to  vaccinate;  and  by  the  16th  of  February  had  vac- 
cinated all  the  people  belonging  to  the  fort,  and  the  Indian 
inhabitants  of  the  mission  of  San  Diego,  three  miles  north 
of  the  former  place.”  6 

In  1827,  the  Fathers  were  again  requested  to  state  the 
extent  of  the  Mission  lands.  On  December  18,  1827,  they 
complied  as  follows : 

“Lands. — Going  down  the  Canada  toward  the  port  of  San 
Diego,  the  territory  of  this  Mission  reaches  to  the  Canada  de 
Osuna.  On  the  land  intervening  wheat  and  barley  are 
planted ; there  is  no  irrigation.  The  distance  is  one  and  a 
half  league.  Adjoining  it  are  the  lands  of  the  settlers  of 
said  port,  and  the  pastures  for  the  horses  and  mules  of  the 
N ation  ( Government ) . 

“Going  toward  the  cattle  ranch  of  the  Government,  the 
territory  of  this  Mission  extends  as  far  as  the  Rancheria 
of  San  Jorge;  its  extent  is  two  leagues  and  a half.  On 
the  land  intervening,  the  sheep  are  pastured  during  the 
winter  season.  On  the  borders  are  the  gentiles  of  said 
Rancheria  (of  San  Jorge). 


5 Smythe,  History  of  San  Biego,  pp.  137-138. 

6 No  priest  died  at  San  Diego  Mission  at  this  time,  1828;  nor  was 
there  any  extraordinary  number  of  deaths,  nor  from  small  pox.  More- 
over, the  mission  was  neither  three  miles  nor  north  from  the  presidio. 
It  is  strange,  too,  that  the  Fathers  nowhere  make  mention  of  Pattie 
or  of  vaccination. 


222  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“On  the  way  to  Santa  Monica  or  El  Cajon  are  the  terri- 
tories called  San  Jacome  de  la  Marcha  and  San  Capistrano 
de  Matamo.  In  these  districts  pasture  the  horses  and  mules 
and  the  sheep  of  this  Mission.  They  extend  about  two 
leagues  and  a half.  Adjoining  them  are  the  pagans  of 
said  rancherias. 

“In  the  territory  of  El  Cajon  or  Santa  Monica,  wheat, 
barley,  com,  and  beans  are  raised,  the  greater  part  depend- 
ing on  rains,  and  the  rest  on  irrigation  with  the  water 
obtained  from  the  dam.  This  water  comes  from  a grove 
called  El  Chocolate,  which  lies  below  the  sierra  of  Cuyamat. 
This  whole  tract  lies  five  leagues  from  the  Mission.  Con- 
tiguous to  it  are  the  rancherias  of  said  gentiles. 

“From  Santa  Monica  or  El  Cajon  to  the  new  foundation 
of  Santa  Isabel  is  a distance  of  nine  leagues.  In  this  terri- 
tory wheat,  barley,  corn,  and  beans  are  planted,  the  greater 
part  depending  on  the  rains  and  the  rest  on  irrigation. 

“From  the  Valle  de  San  Jose  to  the  laguna  called  El  Agua 
Caliente  is  a stretch  of  two  leagues,  on  which  the  cattle 
of  the  Mission  are  pastured  and  also  the  sheep.  From  the 
laguna  farther  on  and  the  environs,  approach  the  territories 
belonging  to  the  Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey. 

“From  said  territories  to  the  Rancho  de  San  Bernardo 
is  seven  leagues.  On  this  stretch  is  a territory  called  Pamo, 
where  there  is  a grove  with  a good  deal  of  water,  but  not 
enough  for  raising  grain.  It  is  sufficient  only  for  pastur- 
ing the  sheep,  horses  and  mules. 

“From  the  Rancho  de  San  Bernardo  moving  toward  the 
territory  of  Mission  San  Luis  Rey  is  a distance  of  two 
leagues.  Here  the  cattle  of  this  Mission  of  San  Diego 
find  pasture.  Proceeding  toward  San  Dieguito,  the  terri- 
tory of  this  Mission  reaches  as  far  as  La  Joya,  a distance 
of  three  leagues.  On  this  stretch  of  land  pasture  the  cattle 
of  this  Mission. 

“From  the  Rancho  de  San  Bernardo,  coming  toward  this 
Mission,  lies  the  Rancheria  with  the  permanent  running 
water,  which  is  called  Paguay,  reaching  to  where  we  pasture 
the  cattle  of  this  Mission.  From  the  Rancheria  de  Paguay 


Mission  San  Diego  223 

to  this  Mission  of  San  Diego  is  a large  and  mountainous 
jungle,  of  no  use  for  anything. 

“The  afore-mentioned  territories  are  those  occupied  and 
possessed  by  this  Mission  of  San  Diego. 


SAN  DIEGO  MISSION  CATTLE  BRAND 


“Cattle. — The  cattle  which  this  Mission  of  San  Diego 
possesses  are  in  two  ranchos  and  they  number,  old  and 
young,  9,120  head. 


224  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

“Sheep. — Including  the  lambs,  this  Mission  has  16,284 
head. 

“ Horses . — This  Mission  has  fourteen  droves  including 
jackasses  and  three  burros  with  their  young — 825  head,  and 
tame  horses — 162  head. 

“Mules. — There  are  82  tame  mules  and  54  wild  mules, 
in  all  136. 

“Goats. — There  are,  including  young,  234  head. 

“Swine. — There  are,  including  young,  72  pigs. 

“Nota. — In  Article  First  of  the  Bando  it  is  said  that  in 
the  jurisdictions  of  Santa  Barbara  and  San  Diego  the  time 
for  branding  the  cattle  will  be  the  months  of  March,  April, 
and  May.  I have  to  say  that  in  the  Rancho  de  San  Ber- 
nardo the  branding  can  be  done  in  those  months;  but  in 
the  Rancho  of  Valle  de  San  Jose  it  will  not  be  practicable 
to  brand  until  the  months  of  August  and  September,  be- 
cause the  weather  is  very  cold  and  the  cattle  may  not  be 
ready  until  summer.  Therefore  I supplicate  that  permis- 
sion be  granted  to  do  the  branding  in  this  Rancho  during 
the  two  months  of  August  and  September. 

“The  stamp  and  the  shape  of  the  iron  are  enclosed. 

“In  witness  whereof  I sign  at  Mission  San  Diego  on 
the  eighteenth  of  December,  1827. — Fr.  Fernando  Martin, 
Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual  Oliva.” 7 

In  1825,  after  long  waiting,  the  missionaries,  who  had 
their  hands  full  looking  after  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  Indians,  were  at  last  relieved  from  attend- 
ance at  the  presidio.  In  that  year,  Fr.  Antonio  Menendez, 
O.  P.,  arrived  at  the  port  and  he  was  persuaded  to  accept 
the  chaplaincy  for  the  soldiers  and  their  families.  In  his 
report  to  the  Minister  of  War,  on  the  Spanish  born  male 
inhabitants  of  California,  Echeandia,  on  December  6,  1828, 
writes  regarding  Fr.  Menendez : 

Fr.  Antonio  Menendez,  a Dominican  friar  from  Lower  California, 
where  he  completed  twelve  years  of  missionary  labors,  was  given  a 
pass  by  his  prelate,  the  Fr.  Presidente,  to  return  to  his  convent  in 


7 California  Archives,  St.  Pap.  Mis.  vi,  pp.  178-180. 


Mission  San  Diego 


225 


Mexico;  but  since  there  was  need  of  a chaplain  at  this  presidio  of 
San  Diego,  his  services  were  engaged  for  a salary  which  the  company 
granted  him  as  its  chaplain  pro  tempore.  He  is  forty-three  years  old 
and  conducts  himself  in  an  orderly  way.  He  swore  to  the  inde- 
pendence while  still  a missionary,  and  since  then  he  performed  the 
functions  of  his  ministry  in  conformity  with  the  federal  system.  He 
has  been  found  to  favor  it  and  he  has  taken  the  oath  on  it  in  legal 
form.  In  the  same  year,  on  October  14,  Echeandia  notified  Fr. 
Menendez  “that  the  President  of  the  Republic  through  the  Minister 
of  War  tells  you  that  he  will  receive  with  pleasure  your  services  as 
chaplain  of  San  Diego.  ’ ’ s 

A primary  school  was  conducted  at  the  presidio  during 
the  last  half  of  the  decade,  according  to  Bancroft,9  and  Fr. 
Menendez  for  a time  acted  as  teacher,  receiving  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty  dollars  a month  from  the  town  funds.  In 
1829,  the  school  had  eighteen  pupils. 

It  was  most  disagreeable  for  the  missionaries  when 
Echeandia  informed  them  “that  Ensign  Jose  Fernandez,  who 
had  just  disembarked,  was  directed  to  take  up  his  quar- 
ters in  the  mission  with  the  thirty  artillerymen  who  accom- 
panied him.”  10  Yet,  this  same  Echeandia  had  himself  her- 
alded as  the  liberator  of  the  Indians  from  the  bonds  of 
missionary  rule.  Without  asking  whether  there  was  room  or 
whether  it  would  be  agreeable,  he  issued  his  outrageous  order. 
AVe  have  no  details  of  the  affair,  however.  In  the  report  for 
that  year,  the  Fathers  say  nothing  of  it.  Perhaps,  after  all, 
the  unwelcome  soldiers  were  induced  to  stay  away.  Surely, 
of  all  places  an  Indian  mission  was  the  last  in  which  soldiers 
should  be  quartered.  At  any  rate,  Echeandia  made  an 
exhibition  of  the  little  interest  he  had  in  the  welfare  of 
the  Indians,  despite  his  protestations  to  the  contrary. 

Late  in  1829,  the  news  of  the  election  of  Pope  Pius  VIII 
reached  San  Diego.  As  had  been  done  in  1800  by  order 
of  Bishop  Rouset  and  again  for  Pope  Leo  XII,  a High  Mass 
with  the  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  all  the  missions;  th£  illumina- 


s Cal.  Arch.,  T)ep.  Sec.,  vi,  pp.  235-241 ; 491-492. 
o History  of  California,  vol.  ii,  p.  548. 
n>  Cal.  Arch.,  Dep.  Sec.,  vi,  pp.  505-506. 


226  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


tions  lasted  three  nights,  besides  the  ringing  of  bells.  Fr. 
Tomas  Mansilla,  O.  P.,  of  Lower  California,  writes  to 
Echeandia  that  the  same  celebrations  were  observed  at  the 
Port  of  San  Diego.11 

One  of  the  ranchos  belonging  at  this  time  to  Mission 
San  Diego  was  coveted.  The  result  was  a correspondence 
which  shows  how  strenuously  the  Franciscans  fought  for 
the  rights  of  their  Indian  neophytes.  The  following  letter 
on  the  subject  needs  no  comment: 

In  your  reply  of  January  20,  1829,  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  writes  to 
Echeandia,  you  say  that  proof  and  evidence  should  be  placed  before 
Your  government  under  what  title,  possession,  or  formal  authorization 
this  Mission  considers  itself  the  lawful  owner  of  the  land  of  Jamul; 
that,  furthermore,  the  Mission  doubtless  prejudiced  its  rights  to  Jamul 
since  for  the  last  fifteen  years  it  has  not  made  use  of  said  land. 

No  one  doubts  that  to  the  Indians  belong  the  lands  and  the  site 
where  they  and  their  fathers  and  sons  and  grandfathers  had  been 
born;  for  nature  has  given  it  to  them,  and  they  must  keep  their 
lands  and  property,  unless  it  be  shown  that  they  had  sold  or  given 
said  lands  to  other  people  or  under  some  title  had  transferred  them 
to  other  persons. 

These  Indians  or  a part  of  them,  natives  of  Jamul,  are  living  at 
the  Mission,  and  they  have  a share  in  the  property  of  the 
Mission,  and  under  that  title  and  proprietorship  the  Mission  has 
possession.  In  the  Libro  4,  Ley  9,  de  la  Becopilacion  de  Indias  is 
a law  which  reads : ( 1 It  is  commanded  that  the  converted  Indians 
shall  not  be  deprived  of  their  lands  of  which  they  held  possession 
before;  and  that,  in  this  no  innovation  be  made  and  the  lands  be 
preserved  for  them,  as  they  had  held  them  before,  so  that  they 
may  cultivate  them  and  use  them  for  their  own  profit.” 

By  what  has  been  said  and  by  virtue  of  this  law  is  proved  the 
right  which  this  Mission  has  of  holding  possession  of  the  Jamul  site; 
moreover,  it  has  had  possession  of  it  for  a very  great  many  years 
without  opposition  from  any  one  and  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
government. 

Regarding  the  second  point,  I have  to  say  that  the  information 
which  they  gave  Your  Honor  to  the  effect  that  for  the  last  fifteen 
years  the  Mission  has  not  occupied  the  site  of  Jamul,  is  false  and 
not  true.  Jn  1823,  I myself  ordered  the  mules  to  be  placed  at 
Jamul,  and  there  they  remained  a long  time  until  an  Indiap  namecf 
Agustin  began  to  steal  the  animals,  whereupon  I had  them  removed 


ii  Archb.  Arch.,  nos.  2,072,  2,075. 


M ission  San  Diego 


227 


to  the  sierra ; thereafter,  because  of  the  damage  done  by  said 
Agustin,  no  live  stock  was  put  at  Jamul.  Who  doubts  that  it  is 
the  Mission  which  suffers  if  that  site  is  given  away?  In  this  year 
of  drought,  when  there  is  no  pasturage  for  the  sheep,  where  shall 
they  be  placed?  Which  localities  has  the  Mission  on  which  to  main- 
tain 17,000  sheep  during  the  five  months  of  cold  weather?  Certain 
places  are  set  aside  on  which  to  keep  the  live  stock  of  the  Mission, 
in  such  seasons  of  drought,  and  Jamul  is  one  of  them.  There  is 
another,  which  I do  not  name.  Doubtless,  in  times  when  water  is 
plentiful,  the  animals  maintain  themselves  in  any  place;  but  when 
there  is  scarcity  of  pasturage,  wide  stretches  of  iand  are  needed.  In 
conclusion,  I transmit  the  law  cited  above.  Mission  San  Diego. 
January  22,  1829. — Fr.  Fernando  Martin.12 

Let  Smythe  observe  well  that  Echeandia,  unfriendly  as 
he  was  to  the  missionaries,  does  not  call  on  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  to  prove  their  right  to  the  land.  The  reason  is 
simple  enough.  The  Fathers  had  no  land  they  called  their 
own,  although  as  individuals  they  might  have  claimed  tracts 
of  land  with  much  more  propriety  than  any  of  the  men 
who  did  secure  grants ; for  they  labored  without  compensa- 
tion in  behalf  of  its  real  owners — the  Indians.  But  they 
had  taken  the  vow  of  poverty  and  could,  therefore,  claim 
nothing  for  themselves  or  their  Order,  nor  did  they  ever 
lay  claim  to  as  much  as  a square  foot.  As  guardians  of 
the  Indians  and  of  their  property,  however,  it  was  their 
duty  to  resist  any  encroachments  on  the  lands  of  the  Indians. 

Accordingly  we  find  that  in  1823  the  Fathers  protested 
against  the  granting  of  the  Penasquitos  Rancho  to  Captain 
Francisco  Maria  Ruiz.13  Indeed,  so  jealously  did  the  mis- 
sionaries watch  over  the  rights  of  their  Indian  wards  that 
they  would  even  rise  against  the  missionaries  of  another 
mission,  when  they  felt  that  any  damage  might  result  to 
their  neophytes.  Thus,  for  instance,  a dispute  arose  about 
the  boundary  line  between  the  missions  of  San  Luis  Rev 
and  San  Diego.  Governor  Echeandia  settled  the  conten- 


ds Arclib.  Arch.,  no.  2,049. 

13  Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  pp.  551-552. 


Mission  San  Diego 


229 


tion  by  dividing-  the  Canada  de  Buenavista  half  and  half 
between  the  two  missions.14 

Comandante  Santiago  Argiiello,  on  December  31,  1830, 
reported  that  in  the  district  subject  to  his  jurisdiction,  there 
were  to  be  found  7,851  inhabitants,  of  whom  7,294  were 
Indians.  These  lived  at  the  Presidio  of  San  Diego  and  in 
the  territories  of  the  four  missions  of  San  Diego,  San  Luis 
Rey,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  San  Gabriel  (Los  Angeles 
not  included),  and  in  the  following'  ranchos  and  localities: 
La  Purisima  or  Rancho  de  la  Nacion;  San  Antonio,  Abad  : 
San  Isidro ; El  Rosario  de  Barracas ; Santa  Margarita  de 
los  Penasquitos ; Santa  Monica  or  El  Cajon:  Santa  Isabel; 
San  Bernardo;  San  Antonio  de  Pala;  Temecula:  Santa  Mar- 
garita; San  Pedro  or  Las  Flores;  Las  Pulgas ; San  Jacinto; 
San  Juan;  Agua  Caliente ; Santa  Ana;  San  Joaquin;  Tra- 
buco;  San  Mateo;  La  Puente;  Santa  Ana  (Rancho); 
Gurupe ; San  Bernardino ; San  Timoteo ; and  San  Gorgonio. 

“In  this  year,”  Argiiello  further  reports,  ‘‘an  epidemic  was 
experienced ; commonly,  the  congregated  Indians  suffered 
from  venereal  diseases,  which  produces  terrible  havoc  among 
them.  This  is  the  cause  of  their  decrease  aggravated  by 
the  little  or  no  care  they  take  in  dieting.  This  is  also  experi- 
enced among  the  gente  de  razon  or  those  who  are  not 
Indians.”  15 

Important  changes  took  place  in  both  the  ecclesiastical 
and  the  political  government  of  California  during  the  latter 
part  of  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Fr.  Jose 
Sanchez,  who  had  been  stationed  at  San  Diego  from  1805 
to  1819,  was  appointed  Presidente  or  Superior  of  the  Mis- 
sionaries by  the  Mother  College,  on  June  9,  1827.  At  the 
time  the  zealous  friar  was  in  charge  of  Mission  San  Gabriel. 

Echeandia’s  rule  had  proved  unsatisfactory  to  the  Su- 
preme Government,  and  certainly  disastrous  to  the  Missions, 


^Echeandia  to  Fathers  of  Missions  San  Diego  aud  San  Lius  Rey, 
February  25,  and  December  4,  1829.  Cal.  Arch.,  I)ep.  Bee.,  vii,  90,258. 
Bancroft  Collection. 

15  Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  iv,  37-38.  Bancroft  Collection. 


230  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


with  which  he  was  not  in  sympathy.  A successor  was 
appointed  in  the  person  of  Manuel  Victoria,  who  arrived 
overland  from  Loreto  at  San  Diego  in  November  or  early 
in  December,  1830.  He  expected  Echeandia  to  surrender 
the  office  at  this  place ; but  that  wily  official  had  gone  to 
Monterey  with  a big  scheme  against  the  Missions.  This 
he  launched  at  Monterey  on  January  6,  1831,  when  the  new 
governor  was  already  on  his  way  to  Santa  Barbara.  The 
amazed  Victoria  took  the  oath  of  office  at  Monterey  and 
then  at  once  nullified  his  predecessor’s  confiscation  plan. 
By  this  act,  however,  he  incurred  the  hatred  of  a set  of 
unscrupulous  young  Californians,  whom  the  Mexican  law 
against  Spanish-born  officials  had  brought  to  the  surface. 
They  assembled  at  San  Diego  and  from  there  fulminated  a 
proclamation  of  rebellion  against  Victoria,  ostensibly  on  the 
ground  that  the  new  governor  would  not  convoke  the  legis- 
lature, for  which  in  reality  he  had  already  asked  the  advice 
of  the  Supreme  Government,  but  in  truth  because  Victoria 
had  frustrated  their  sordid  plans  against  the  Missions,  the 
lands  and  live  stock  of  which  they  coveted.  The  proclama- 
tion was  signed  on  November  29,  1831,  by  Pio  Pico,  Juan 
Bandini,  and  Jose  Antonio  Carrillo.  The  garrison  was  then 
induced  to  join  the  rebels  and  the  officers  did  so  by  sign- 
ing a supplementary  note  on  December  1,  1831,  excusing 
their  traitorous  action.  These  officials  were  Jose  M.  Eche- 
andia : Pablo  de  la  Portilla.  said  to  have  been  intimidated 
to  turn  against  his  chief,  Santiago  Argiiello ; Jose  M. 
Ramirez;  Ignacio  del  Valle;  Juan  Jose  Rocha;  and  Andres 
Cervantes.  With  a handful  of  men  Victoria  came  down  to 
quell  the  revolt.  A short  battle  ensued  near  Cahuenga  in 
which  the  governor  was  seriously  wounded  and  his  aid 
killed.  He  was  taken  by  his  men  to  San  Gabriel  and  there 
he  resigned  his  office.  When  he  recovered  sufficiently,  he 
went  to  San  Diego,  boarded  the  Pocahontas  on  January  17, 
1832,  and  sailed  for  Mexico.16 


16  For  details  see  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  249-250; 
320;  346-365. 


Mission  San  Diego 


23 1 


On  January  10,  1832,  Echeandia  assembled  the  legislature 
at  Los  Angeles.  Pio  Pico  was  elected  temporary  governor 
and  Echeandia  military  commander  of  California.  But  the 
latter  was  not  satisfied  with  the  arrangement  and  refused 
to  acknowledge  Pio  Pico  as  civil  governor,  on  the  ground 
that  the  military  and  civil  command  must  be  united  in  one 
person.  After  twenty  days,  Pico  laid  no  more  claim  to  the 
office.  But  now  Captain  Augustin  V.  Zamorano  of  Mon- 
terey, as  ranking  officer,  claimed  the  office  of  governor.  To 
avoid  bloodshed,  Echeandia  wTas  allowed  to  rule  from  San 
Gabriel  southward,  while  Zamorano  governed  in  the  north, 
until  a new  governor  should  come  from  Mexico.  Echean- 
dia did  rule  the  south.  “Retreating  to  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano,says  Tuthill,17  “Echeandia  gathered  about  him  many 
Indians  whom  his  promises  enticed  from  their  work  at  the 
missions,  and  inaugurated  a series  of  robberies  and  mur- 
ders. Other  Indians  at  distant  points,  especially  in  the 
south,  revolted.  The  Indian  was  free,  and  he  felt  that  his 
freedom  entitled  him  to  do  any  violence  that  might  be 
convenient.” 

On  May  9,  1832,  a new  governor  was  appointed  by  the 
Mexican  Government  in  the  person  of  Jose  Figueroa,  then 
governor  of  Sonora.  Although  the  news  arrived  in  July. 
Echeandia  audaciously  played  the  same  trick  he  had  perpe- 
trated once  before.  On  November  18,  1832,  he  issued  a 
Reglamento  concerning  the  missions,  “as  if  the  events  of 
the  past  months  had  been  a mere  temporary  interruption 
of  his  plan,”  18  though  it  was  intended  to  apply  only  to  the 
four  southern  missions,  because  he  had  no  power  over  the 
others.  The  document  was  addressed  to  the  missionaries 
of  San  Diego,  San  Luis  Rey,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and 
San  Gabriel.  In  reply,  Fathers  Martin  and  Oliva  of  Mis- 
sion San  Diego  wrote  on  November  24  as  follows: 

After  reading  attentively  the  Bando  and  Reglamento,  which  under 
date  of  the  eighteenth  of  this  month  you  placed  in  our  hands,  and 


it  California,  p.  134. 

is  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  pp.  184-185;  314-315. 


232  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


after  reflecting  what  we  should  do  in  such  a delicate  case,  we  have 
decided  to  retain  a copy  and  to  forward  the  original  to  our  Fr. 
Presidente,  without  whose  knowledge  or  permission  we  can  not  meddle 
with  political  matters,  for  we  are  mere  subordinates  of  our  prelates 
through  whose  hands  orders  of  this  kind  must  come.  We  shall  not 
oppose  nor  do  we  oppose  whatever  Your  Honor  may  determine,  for 
we  continue  here  at  this  Mission  only  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
these  people.  Since  May  20  of  this  year,  the  neophytes  of  this 
Mission  have  already  managed  its  temporalities  without  any  meddling 
in  their  affairs  on  our  part.  If  at  any  time  anything  has  been  said 
about  the  damage  which  the  little  remaining  property  is  suffering, 
it  was  done  because  the  waste  in  the  management  is  notorious.  Only 
the  wine  cellar  has  not  been  turned  over  to  the  Indians,  because  this 
has  been  regarded  as  not  conducive  to  their  corporal  and  spiritual 
welfare. 

The  Fr.  Presidente  mentioned  in  the  letter  was  Fr.  Nar- 
ciso  Duran,  who  held  the  office  for  the  term  immediately 
preceding  that  of  Fr.  Sanchez.  He  had  been  reappointed 
by  the  College  on  May  26,  1830.19 

With  the  year  1832,  the  regular  annual  reports  on  the 
state  of  the  mission  ceased.  They  had  usually  been  signed 
by  the  missionaries  in  charge  on  the  thirty-first  day  of 
December.  During  the  year  1834,  the  temporal  manage- 
ment was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Fathers  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Decree  of  Secularization,  or  rather  confisca- 
tion, which  Governor  Figueroa  issued  at  the  behest  of  the 
Californians  on  August  9 and  November  4,  1834.  The  last 
report  signed  by  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  on  December  31, 
1832,  gave  the  number  of  Baptisms,  administered  since  the 
founding  of  the  mission  in  1769,  as  6,522,  including  those 
of  white  settlers  and  others.  During  the  same  time,  1,803 
marriages  had  been  blessed,  while  the  deaths  amounted  to 
4,332.  The  neophyte  population  embraced  259  married 
couples,  255  widowers,  105  widows,  228  single  men  and 
boys  over  nine  years  of  age,  75  single  women  and  girls, 
144  male  children,  and  130  female  children,  in  all  1,455 
souls. 

At  the  end  of  the  same  year,  1832,  the  mission  possessed 


1 9 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  418-419;  207,  307. 


Mission  San  Diego 


233 


4,500  head  of  cattle,  13,250  sheep,  150  goats,  220  horses, 
and  80  mules.  This  shows  that  if  the  covetous  Californians 
had  let  the  missions  alone,  as  they  had  to  let  alone  the  pri- 
vate property  of  individual  white  settlers,  the  Indians  could 
have  prospered  indefinitely.  Another  story  will  have  to  be 
told  of  the  mission  property  after  it  had  been  in  the  hands 
of  hired  administrators  less  than  five  years.  In  fact,  decay 
set  in  at  once. 

The  covetous  mission  enemies  endeavored  to  create  the 
impression,  and  many  people  still  so  believe,  that  the  con- 
fiscation of  the  mission  properties  was  executed  in  obedi- 
ence to  a decree  enacted  by  the  Mexican  Congress  on 
August  17,  1833.  That  decree,  however,  contemplated  no 
such  robberies  as  the  Californians  perpetrated.  It  went  no 
further,  indeed,  than  the  law  resolved  upon  by  the  Spanish 
Cortes  on  September  13,  1813,  which  provided  that  mission- 
aries of  religious  Orders  in  charge  of  Indian  missions  any- 
where should  be  replaced  by  priests  directly  subject  to  the 
bishop,  and  that  the  property  should  he  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  Indians  and  he  managed  by  themselves.  This  latter 
feature  of  the  law  is  what  displeased  the  gang  of  Califor- 
nians headed  by  Pio  Pico,  Juan  Bandini,  Juan  B.  Alvarado, 
Jose ' Castro,  and  Mariano  Vallejo.  Accordingly,  they  in- 
timidated Governor  Jose  Figueroa  and  he  issued  the  decree 
of  August  9,  1834.  This  decree  not  only  deprived  the  Fran- 
ciscans of  the  management,  in  violation  of  the  Mexican 
law,  but  likewise  took  the  control  from  the  Indians  and 
put  the  missionaries,  the  property,  and  the  Indians  in  charge 
of  hirelings.  The  missionaries  thereafter  were  at  the  mercy 
of  those  in  charge.  For  details  the  reader  must  be  referred 
to  volumes  three  and  four  of  the  General  History,  since  it 
would  lead  us  too  far  to  repeat  them  here.  The  Mexican 
Government  was,  therefore,  innocent  of  the  wholesale  rob- 
bery, in  fact,  it  flatly  forbade  the  Californian  governor,  Pio 
Pico  at  the  time,  to  make  any  change  in  the  status  of  the 
missions ; but  this  official  paid  no  attention  to  the  command 
and  proceeded  even  to  sell  the  remnant  of  the  property  to 


234  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


the  highest  bidder.  We  have  anticipated ; but  it  seemed 
better  to  make  the  matter  clear  right  here. 

Before  issuing  a decree  concerning  the  missions,  in  fact, 
before  the  decree  of  the  Mexican  Congress  of  August  17, 
1833,  was  published,  Governor  Figueroa  came  south  to  in- 
vestigate the  situation.  He  clearly  saw  what  Fr.  Presidente 
Duran  had  stated  all  along,  that  through  no  fault  of  the 
missionaries  the  neophytes  were  not  as  yet  in  a condition 
to  govern  themselves  or  their  property,  and  that  any  whole- 
sale change  in  the  system  would  be  ruinous.  Accordingly, 
he  so  reported  to  the  Mexican  Government  under  date  of 
July  20,  1833.  He  described  the  neophytes  as  children,  with 
a natural  predilection  for  the  customs  of  their  ancestors 
and  for  savage  life  without  work.  If  freed  at  once,  they 
would  from  proprietors  soon  become  beggars,  after  hav- 
ing bartered  their  possessions  for  liquor  and  gewgaws. 
They  would  then  return  to  the  wilderness  and  join  the  wild 
Indians  in  stealing  cattle  and  horses  and  selling  them  to 
New  Mexicans  and  foreigners — all  of  which  actually  came 
to  pass. 

Nevertheless,  Figueroa  personally  tried  to  induce  the  ne- 
ophytes to  avail  themselves  of  the  liberty  held  out  to  them. 
He  assembled  them  and  explained  to  them  the  advantages 
of  freedom.  Yet  so  attached  were  they  to  “degrading  servi- 
tude” and  to  their  “tyrannical  missionary  Fathers,”  that,  as 
Arguello  reported  in  September,  of  fifty-nine  heads  of  Indian 
families  at  Mission  San  Diego  only  two  wished  for  “emanci- 
pation,” unless  they  could  have  the  property  to  do  with  it 
as  they  pleased.  Fourteen  families,  comprising  thirty-three 
souls,  at  San  Dieguito,  desired  emancipation,  and  the  two 
from  the  mission  wanted  to  join  them,  in  order  to  form  a 
pueblo.  Arguello  granted  their  petition  and  wrote  that  he 
was  going  to  assign  their  lands.  It  is  probable  that  the 
beginning*  of  the  settlement  dates  from  that  time,  although 
Bancroft  says  there  is  no  evidence  that  Arguello  assigned 
the  lands. 

Before  the  governor  set  out  on  his  tour,  Fr.  Presidente 
Duran  himself  made  a visitation  in  the  south.  The  Mission 


Mission  San  Diego 


235 


Registers  of  San  Diego  show  that  he  was  at  the  mission 
as  late  as  July  12,  1833,  on  which  day  he  vised  and  signed 
the  books.  But  he  had  arrived  earlier;  for,  on  July  3,  1833, 
he  addressed  a letter  to  Figueroa  warning  him  to  decide 
anything  on  the  subject  of  Indian  emancipation,  as  the  con- 
sequences would  be  disastrous.  Unfortunately  the  letter  did 
not  reach  the  governor  until  July  22,  five  days  after  he  had 
published  his  “Prevenciones  Provisionales”  that  provided  for 
the  gradual  emancipation  of  the  neophytes.  This  prelimi- 
nary measure  was  followed  by  the  infamous  decree  of 
August  9,  1834,  ordering  the  confiscation  of  the  missions, 
which  measure  was  emphasized  by  the  decree  of  November 
4,  1834.  From  that  date,  the  missions  were  doomed  to 
destruction  and  the  neophytes  to  extinction.  The  Fathers 
at  San  Diego,  as  at  all  the  mission  establishments,  quietly 
submitted  to  the  inevitable.  They  had  done  their  best  to 
ward  it  off.  It  was  useless  to  resist  brute  force,  while  the 
Mexican  Government  was  too  far  away  to  be  appealed  to 
and  too  helpless  itself  to  furnish  relief.20 

Mission  San  Diego,  on  September  20,  1834,  was  trans- 
ferred by  inventory  from  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  to  Juan 
Jose  Rocha,  who  had  been  appointed  commissioner  for  that 
purpose.  The  inventory  included  everything,  church  goods 
and  sacred  vessels  not  excepted.  The  mission  was  well  sup- 
plied in  that  line.  Four  chalices,  for  instance,  were  valued 
at  $37,  $25,  $20.50,  and  $26,  respectively.  One  of  the  mis- 
sals must  have  been  a precious  specimen  of  art,  since  it 
was  valued  at  $100.21 

In  April,  1835,  Joaquin  Ortega  was  placed  in  charge  as 
administrator  with  a salary  of  $50  a month,  to  be  paid,  of 
course,  from  the  income  of  the  mission  property,  or  from 
the  proceeds  of  the  farm  products  which  the  “emancipated” 
neophytes  had  to  work  as  before.  The  missionaries  had 


20  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  472,  530;  Bancroft, 
vol.  iii,  p.  628. 

21  Original  of  the  Inventory  in  Sta.  Barb.  Arch.  See  Appendix  E. 


236  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


managed  the  temporalities  successfully  without  compensa- 
tion for  more  than  sixty  years.  We  shall  soon  see  with 
what  success  the  hired  managers  controlled  the  destinies  of 
the  establishment,  and  with  what  satisfaction  to  the  Indians. 
Another  inventory  was  taken  on  May  5,  1835,  and  signed 
by  Fr.  Martin.  In  this  document  the  church  and  its  appur- 
tenances were  valued  at  $4,777.37.  The  debts  of  the  mis- 
sion amounted  to  $531,  but  the  military  commissariat  owed 
the  mission  for  supplies  that  amounted  to  $18, 816.75. 22 

The  little  pueblo  of  San  Dieguito  was  organized  in  No- 
vember, 1835,  with  34  families  of  only  113  souls  from  San 
Diego.23 


22  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  pp.  353,  620. 

23  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  pp.  628. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Death  of  Fr.  Fernando  Martin. — Salaries. — Fr.  Oliva  Defends  Indian 
Rights. — Santa  Isabel. — Administrator  Rule. — Inspector  Hartnell. — 
His  Melancholy  Report. — Indian  Complaints. — Mission  Poverty. — 
Robinson ’s  Description. — Bishop  Appointed. — He  Arrives  at  San 
Diego. — He  Confirms  and  Ordains. — Mofras’s  Description. — Yuma 
Indians. — Governor  Manuel  Micheltorena. — His  Soldiers. — He  De- 
parts.— Mission  Remnant  Restored  to  Franciscans. — Result  of  Ad- 
ministrator Rule. — Pio  Pico  Governor. — Mission  Sold. — Deed  of 
Sale.  — Smythe ’s  Views. — Unscrupulous  Pico.  — Retribution. — What 
Smythe  Has  to  Say. — Indian  Raids. — Lamentations. — Items  from 
Bancroft. 

R.  Fernando  Martin  died  at  Mission  San  Diego  on  Octo- 


ber 19,  1838,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  He  had 
labored  at  this  mission  since  July,  1812,  had  seen  it  pros- 
per and  the  neophytes  increase,  happy  and  contented  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Cross,  and  then  had  witnessed  with  bleed- 
ing heart  how  like  sheep  they  were  scattered  by  ravenous 
wolves.  From  December,  1831,  till  September,  1833,  he  had 
been  alone,  Fr.  Oliva,  his  companion,  having  been  trans- 
ferred to  Mission  San  Luis  Rey.  Fr.  Buenaventura  Fortuni 
assisted  him  till  August,  1834,  when  Fr.  Oliva  returned  and 
thenceforth  served  the  Indians  at  San  Diego  till  1846. 

Reporting  under  date  of  March  22,  1839,  on  the  sal- 
aries granted  the  employees  of  the  ex-Mission  of  San  Diego, 
Joaquin  J.  Ortega  declared  that  Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  who 
officiated  only  as  priest  and  pastor,  from  December  1,  1834, 
to  October  19,  1838,  the  day  of  his  death,  had  held  a sal- 
ary of  $1,500  a year,  which  was  assigned  to  him  by  the 
legislative  assembly.  The  administrator,  Joaquin  Ortega, 
received  $600  annually,  and  the  mayordomo,  one  Rosalio 
Amador,  $18  a month  and  rations.1 


1 Mission  Register  of  San  Diego;  Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  ix, 
301-303;  v,  766. 


238  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


By  way  of  explanation  it  must  be  noted  here  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  confiscation,  when  the  missionaries  were  de- 
prived of  the  management  of  the  mission  as  also  of  the 
means  of  subsistence,  the  legislature  gave  them  the  title  of 
parish  priests  and  assigned  the  above  amount  as  salary. 
The  Fathers  rejected  the  title;  but  they  had  to  accept  the 
salary,  in  order  to  be  able  to  pay  for  their  board  and 
other  necessaries  of  life.  But  rarely,  if  ever,  did  any  of 
the  missionaries  receive  what  was  set  apart  for  them  on 
paper.  Indeed,  some  starved,  while  others  received  what 
they  needed  under  circumstances  and  restrictions  that  were 
humiliating,  and  from  officials  who  would  formerly  have 
been  glad  to  be  employed  as  cowherds  by  those  same 
Fathers.2 

Though  robbed  of  their  authority  as  guardians  of  the 
neophytes  and  of  the  mission  property,  the  Franciscans  here 
as  elsewhere  steadfastly  defended  the  rights  of  the  neophytes 
to  their  lands.  In  consequence,  they  frequently  incurred  the 
animosity  of  the  covetous  Californians,  who  would  make 
reprisals  by  slandering  the  fearless  defenders  of  the  help- 
less Indians.  A case  in  point  is  the  protest  which  Fr.  Oliva, 
on  May  7,  1839,  addressed  to  the  prefect  of  the  south,  Cosme 
D.  Penas,  residing  at  Los  Angeles.  It  reads  as  follows : 

The  place  Santa  Isabel  is  not  k sitio  bdldio  or  uncultivated  land, 
as'  the  solicitor  says  in  his  petition.  It  is  a mission  3 with  a church, 
a cemetery,  and  all  the  requisites  of  a civilized  pueblo.  If  the  Padre 
does  not  reside  there,  it  is  owing  to  the  scarcity  and  lack  of  priests. 
The  natives  of  said  mission  have  their  fields  on  which  they  cultivate 
wheat,  barley,  corn,  beans,  horse-beans,  peas,  and  other  seeds  for  their 
maintenance,  besides  keeping  two  vineyards  and  orchards  and  their 
horses.  During  summer,  the  lands  will  be  occupied  by  their  sheep. 
In  a settlement  of  that  nature  no  private  party  may  enter.  If  the 
government  should  cede  this  land  to  the  solicitor,  whither  would  its 
inhabitants,  580  souls,  be  banished?  The  law  says  that  the  natives 


2 Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  pp.  100-102 ; 180. 
s Not  strictly  speaking,  but  an  assistencia  or  mission  station,  like 
San  Antonio  de  Pala.  It  lacked  only  a resident  priest  to  make  it  a 
mission  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word. 


Mission  San  Diego 


239 


and  possessors  of  land  are  its  legitimate  owners.  Melior  est  conditio 
possidentis.  This  is  what  I am  bound  to  tell  you  on  the  subject. 
Mission  San  Diego,  May  7,  1839.  I11  the  absence  of  the  administrator 

— Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual  Oliva.4 

What  effect  this  protest  had  is  not  known.  But  Adminis- 
trator Ortega,  writing  to  the  governor  under  date  of  Febru- 
ary 22,  1839,.  had  to  confess  that  “the  landed  property  of 
Santa  Isabel,  of  Santa  Monica,  and  of  the  mission  was  in 
ruins,  owing  to  the  lack  of  people ; for  the  emancipated 
Indians  had  fled,  and  there  was  no  one  to  work.  Only  fifty 
persons,  aged  people,  and  women  and  children,  remain.  The 
others  are  in  the  valley  of  Santa  Clara,  Los  Angeles,  and 
in  other  ranchos.”  5 Such  was  the  result  of  administrator 
rule  after  only  four  years.  It  must  not  be  inferred,  how- 
ever, that  Ortega  was  dishonest.  Still,  the  mayordomo 
would  first  take  his  salary  from  the  income  of  the  mission, 
and  then  there  was  little  left  for  the  neophytes.  The  mis- 
sion simply  could  not  afford  to  pay  these  salaries.  Never- 
theless, Ortega  in  1839  reported  that  from  the  year  1835 
there  had  been  distributed  to  the  neophytes  the  following 
effects:  439  undergarments,  202  skirts,  673  blankets,  116 
fanegas  of  corn,  2,110  fanegas  of  wheat,  22  fanegas  of 
beans,  and  140  fanegas  of  barley.6 

In  January,  1839,  Governor  Alvarado  appointed  a very 
good  inspector  of  the  missions  in  the  person  of  William 
Hartnell,  who  began  his  investigations  at  San  Diego  on 
May  22.  He  visited  each  establishment  of  the  military  dis- 
trict as  far  as  San  Fernando,  where  on  May  24  he  reported 
to  the  governor  on  what  had  thus  far  been  done.  Ap- 
parently without  intending  it,  Hartnell  shows  incidentally 
that  the  missionaries  of  San  Diego  Mission,  during  the  sixty- 
six  years  of  their  administration,  had  done  herculean  work 
to  advance  the  temporalities  of  the  neophytes  without  re- 
ceiving in  return  anything  more  than  food  and  clothing. 


4 Hayes,  Mission  Boole,  I,  no.  329.  Bancroft  Collection. 

5 Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  ix,  p.  37.  Bancroft  Collection. 

6 Cal.  Arcli.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  ix,  p.  38.  Bancroft  Collection. 


240  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

At  present,  he  averred,  the  salaries  of  unnecessary  officials 
were  consuming  the  proceeds,  and  the  same  missionaries 
could  but  look  on  helplessly.  His  report  was  a melancholy 
one.  He  declared  that  it  was  pitiable  to  see  the  destitu- 
tion and  misery  and  to  hear  the  complaints  of  the  274  sur- 
viving Indians  of  the  mission.  Going  into  details  on  the 
state  of  the  mission  and  ranchos,  Hartnell  says,  “Mission 
San  Diego  has  one  vineyard  with  5,000  vines  and  an  orchard 
of  300  olive  trees,  and  another  vineyard  of  3,600  vines  and 
an  orchard  of  167  olive  trees,  besides  various  other  fruit 
trees,  notably  pomegranates.  It  has  also  a field  in  good  con- 
dition planted  with  a fanega  (100  lbs.)  of  corn  and  a bushel 
of  beans. 

“The  rancho  of  Santa  Monica  7 has  a vineyard  with  8,000 
vines  two  years  old  and  well  kept.  In  addition,  it  has  a 
field  planted  with  two  and  one-fourth  fanegas  of  corn  and 
two  fanegas  of  beans. 

“At  La  Compasion,  the  people  were  reduced  to  utter  des- 
titution. All  the  Indians  presented  themselves  and  suppli- 
cated the  government  to  remove  the  administrator  and  to 
return  them  to  the  care  of  the  Father,  not  because  they  had 
any  complaint  against  Ortega,  but  because  they  realized  that 
the  mission  was  not  in  a condition  to  maintain  them. 

“At  the  pueblo  of  San  Dieguito,  the  Indians  presented 
themselves  and  complained  about  Juan  Osuna,  the  alcalde 
of  San  Diego,  because  he  had  taken  from  them  the  land 
which  they  had  enclosed  for  their  grain,  and  that  he  had 
left  them  nothing  more  than  salinous  soil  which  did  not  pro- 
duce enough  for  their  maintenance.  According  to  informa- 
tion which  he  had  gathered,  the  said  Indians  are  creditors 
to  the  land  they  claim,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  govern- 
ment would  take  the  necessary  steps  in  the  matter.” 8 


7 An  undated  scrap,  signed  by  Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  hence  before 
October,  1838,  gives  the  population  of  Santa  Monica  as  116  souls;  of 
Santa  Isabel  as  344  souls ; and  of  the  mission  proper  as  320  souls. 
Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  vii,  15-33. 

8 Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  xi,  pp.  334-341;  Hittell,  vol.  ii, 


Mission  San  Diego 


241 


On  July  18,  1840,  Hartnell  states  that  various  Indians 
of  Santa  Isabel  protested  against  the  grant  of  Santa 
Isabel  by  the  governor  to  Joaquin  Ortega.9  Ortega  had 
been  administrator  of  Mission  San  Diego  and  thus  he  util- 
ized his  information  of  the  best  pieces  of  land ; whether 
the  Indians  fared  well  or  badly  was  no  consideration. 
Which  of  the  missionaries  had  ever  benefited  himself  in 
this  way?  Why  did  not  they  apply  for  some  land  grant, 
and  accumulate  the  riches  which  their  enemies  accused  them 
of  seeking?  Because  they  first  and  always  looked  to  the 
welfare  of  the  Indians,  the  real  owners  of  the  lands  now 
demanded  by  those  who  had  done  nothing  to  clear  and  im- 
prove them.  Instead  of  providing  heartlessly  for  themselves, 
as  did  the  officials,  the  Fathers  to  the  last  unselfishly  stood 
by  their  Indian  converts.  For  instance,  on  May  7,  1841, 
Fr.  Oliva  protested  to  the  prefect  of  the  south  against  the 
excessive  punishment  meted  out  to  the  Indian  Bonifacio, 
who  was  sentenced  to  one  month  and  eighteen  days  of  labor 
for  having  killed  a bullock,  although  he  paid  as  a compen- 
sation two  dressed  buckskins,  six  hens,  one  wooden  bowl, 
and  two  horses ; besides  this,  the  fine  in  money  was  six 
dollars.  But  since  he  had  no  money,  he  did  not  pay  the 
fine ; and  therefore  he  and  two  others  received  the  addi- 
tional month  and  eighteen  days  of  labor.10 

The  mission  itself  had  become  so  poor  after  sir  years  of 
administrator  rule  that,  as  Fr.  Oliva,  on  May  7,  1841,  wrote 
to  the  secretary  of  the  governor,  there  was  not  enough 
produce  on  hand  to  pay  the  annual  salary  of  $140  to  mayor- 
domo  Juan  Osuna.* 11 

The  sad  change  that  had  come  over  San  Diego  during 
the  past  few  years  is  aptly  pictured  by  Alfred  Robinson 
when  he  writes:  “At  this. period  of  events,  I embarked  on 


p.  296;  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  p.  620;  Missions  and  Missionaries , vol.  iv, 
pp.  147-148. 

9 Hayes,  Mission  Boole , i,  no.  344.  Bancroft  Collection. 

1 0 Cal.  Arch.,  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  Angeles,  Deer,  and  Juzg.  vi,  p.  147. 

11  Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Missions,  ix,  pp.  99-100. 


242  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


board  of  the  ship  Alert , and  again  visited  St.  Diego.  Here 
everything  was  prostrated — the  Presidio  ruined — the  Mission 
depopulated — the  town  almost  deserted,  and  its  few  in- 
habitants miserably  poor.  It  had  changed ! From  being 
once  the  life  of,  and  most  important  place  in  California, 
it  had  now  become  the  gloomiest  and  most  desolate.  With 
great  difficulty  I succeeded  in  procuring  horses  to  return 
north,  by  land,  and  in  doing  which  the  person  with  whom 
I contracted  compelled  me  to  pay  an  enornious  compensa- 
tion. For  a distance  which  I had  often  performed,  during 
the  flourishing  state  of  the  missionary  establishments,  at 
an  expense  of  five  or  six  dollars,  I had  now  to  pay  forty ! 
So  much  for  secularization ! so  much  for  the  Californian 
Government !” 12 

At  the  request  of  the  Mexican  Government,  Pope  Gregory 
XVI,  on  April  27,  1840,  separated  California  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Bishop  of  Sonora  and  erected  the  Diocese  of 
Both  Calif ornias.  On  the  same  day,  the  Pope  appointed 
Fr.  Garcia  Diego  y Moreno,  O.  F.  M.,  whom  the  President 
of  Mexico  had  proposed,  as  first  Bishop  of  the  Californias 
and  assigned  to  him  San  Diego  as  his  residence.  Fr.  Garcia 
Diego,  who  had  arrived  in  California  already  in  1833  and 
resided  at  Santa  Clara  until  the  end  of  1835,  was  conse- 
crated at  the  Shrine  of  Guadalupe,  in  Mexico,  on  October 
4,  1840.  He  arrived  at  San  Diego  with  his  retinue  on  the 
English  brigantine  Rosalinda,  in  the  night  of  December  10, 
1841.  One  of  the  Fathers  on  board  went  ashore  that  eve- 
ning to  advise  the  comandante  and  to  prepare  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Bishop.  On  landing  the  next  morning,  the 
Bishop  was  solemnly  received  by  Comandante  Santiago 
Argiiello  and  taken  to  the  house  of  Juan  Bandini,  the  only 
structure  suitable  in  the  unsightly  place.  The  Bishop’s  at- 
tendants were  Fr.  Miguel  Muro ; Fr.  Francisco  Sanchez, 
whom  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  later  immortalized  in  her 
Ramona  as  Fr.  Salvierderra  ; Rev  Subdeacon  Miguel  Gomez; 


12  Life  in  California,  pp.  191-192. 


Mission  San  Diego 


243 


the  students,  Antonio  Jimenez,  Jose  Maria  Rosalez,  and 
Doroteo  Ambris ; two  youths,  Agapito  Cabrera  and  Gervasio 
Valadez  by  name;  Alejo  Salmon,  a tailor;  Leandro  Mar- 
tinez, a gardener,  Doha  Josefita  Gomez  y Diego,  the  Bishop’s 
niece,  and  Doha  Soledad,  an  elderly  companion  of  Doha 
Josefita,  who  were  both  to  conduct  a school  for  girls. 

On  December  18,  1841,  the  Bishop  administered  the 
Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  125  persons  in  the  presidio 
chapel.  Pio  Pico,  Francisco  M.  Alvarado,  Jose  A.  Estu- 
dillo,  Manuel  Verdugo,  and  others  acted  as  sponsors  for 
the  men  and  boys.  Next  day,  the  Bishop  conferred  the 
Tonsure  and  Minor  Orders  on  the  three  ecclesiastical 
students,  Jimenez,  Rosalez,  and  Ambris.  These  were  the 
first  ordinations  in  California. 

Nowhere  is  mention  made  of  a visit  to  the  mission  which, 
however,  the  Bishop  doubtless  went  to  see  with  his  attend- 
ants. Fr.  Oliva  was  in  charge,  yet  no  notice  from  him  is 
found  in  the  mission  records  extant.  Fr.  Oliva  must  have 
paid  his  respects  to  the  new  head  of  the  Church  in  Cali- 
fornia at  the  presidio  or  Old  Town  of  San  Diego;  but  his 
presence  is  not  noted  anywhere.  In  fact,  information  re- 
garding San  Diego  is  very  meager  on  any  subject  in  these 
last  years  of  the  mission  period. 

It  required  little  time  to  convince  the  Bishop  that  San 
Diego  with  its  less  than  150  inhabitants,  of  whom  ten  were 
foreigners,  was  unfit  for  an  episcopal  see.  Therefore,  on 
the  invitation  of  Santa  Barbara,  he  resolved  to  transfer  his 
residence  to  that  pueblo  and  arrived  there  on  the  bark 
Gtiipnzcoana  in  the  afternoon  of  January  11,  1842.  He 
never  again  saw  San  Diego.13 

By  order  of  his  government,  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  at- 
tache of  the  French  legation  to  Mexico,  visited  California 
in  1841  and  1842.  In  January  of  the  latter  year,  about  two 


13  Cal.  Arch.,  Dept.  St.  Pap.,  Benicia,  Pref.  and  Juzgado,  iii,  pp. 
861-862;  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  pp.  189-230;  Lihro  de  Con - 
firmaciones. 


244  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


weeks  after  the  departure  of  Bishop  Garcia  Diego,  he 
arrived  at  San  Diego  and  remained  in  the  district  perhaps 
a week  or  ten  days.  He  was  a fairly  honest  observer  and 
described  the  situation  as  follows : 

“This  Mission  of  San  Diego,  which  the  Franciscans  call 
the  Mother-mission,  is  seventeen  leagues  north  of  Mission 
San  Miguel,  the  last  of  the  Lower  California  Missions,  and 
fourteen  leagues  south  of  Mission  San  Luis  Rey,  which  is 
the  nearest.  It  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  San  Diego 
River,  in  a long  and  narrow  valley  between  two  parallel 
chains  of  hills.  The  buildings  and  the  church  are  tumbling 
into  ruins.  In  front  of  the  buildings  is  a magnificent  grove 
of  olives.  The  grape  vine  thrives  there  very  well  and  fur- 
nishes the  most  famous  wines  of  California.  The  cotton 
raised  is  of  a superior  quality,  but  men  are  wanting  to  culti- 
vate it.  . . . In  its  halcyon  days,  this  Mission  numbered 
2,500  Indians,  14,000  horned  cattle,  1,500  horses,  and  32,000 
sheep.14  The  people  here  and  the  animals  were  distributed 
over  the  ranches  of  Santa  Monica  or  the  canon  of  Santa 
Ysabel,  San  Jose,  San  Bernardo,  San  Dieguito,  San  Pas- 
qual,  San  Alejo,  and  Soledad.  To-day,  these  lands  belong 
to  the  individuals  who  seized  them.  At  the  mission  itself, 
there  is  no  longer  any  live  stock.  Its  inhabitants  are  a 
few  Indians,  a family  of  whites,  and  a Spanish  priest, 
Rev.  Vicente  Oliva,  a native  of  Aragon  and  already  much 
advanced  in  years.  He  is  unable  to  save  from  plunder  the 
land  of  Santa  Ysabel,  which  is  situated  ten  leagues  in  the 
mountains,  and  where  five  hundred  Indians  are  gathered 
under  the  supervision  of  their  alcaldes  and  a mayordomo. 
These  natives  possess  some  teams  of  working  oxen  and 
obtain  sufficient  crops  to  support  themselves.  . . . 

“The  country  extends  as  far  as  the  western  banks  of  the 
Colorado  River,  for  about  sixty  leagues  on  a beeline.  It  is 
very  picturesque  and  abounds  in  forests  and  pastures.  The 


14  Mofras  is  very  generous.  See  the  Tabular  Beport  in  chapter  xv; 
also  vol.  iii  of  Missions  and  Missionaries,  Appendix  F. 


MISSION  ORCHARD  IN  1886.  RIVER  VALLEY  DOWN  TO  THE  PRESIDIO. 


246  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Yuma  Indians  who  inhabit  it,  sometimes  overrun  the  terri- 
tory occupied  by  the  whites.  In  1839,  a horde  of  these 

Indians  unexpectedly  invaded  the  land  of  Jamul,  eight 
leagues  from  San  Diego  and  belonging  to  the  family  of 
Sergeant  Pico.  The  savages  massacred  four  whites  and 
carried  off  as  prisoners  two  *y°ung  maidens  whom  they 
forced  to  submit  to  the  vilest  outrages ; these  unfortunates 
roused  such  jealousy  in  the  Indian  women  that  the  latter, 
choosing  a time  when  the  men  of  the  tribe  were  on  a hunt, 
fastened  the  two  prisoners  to  trees  and  stoned  them  to  death. 

“Who  should  not  expect  that  on  hearing  of  these  terrible 
murders,  the  parents  and  the  friends  of  the  victims  would 
join  hands  in  wreaking  signal  vengeance?  Still,  nothing  of 
the  kind  happened.  The  impotent  authorities  took  no  meas- 
ures and  the  crime  remained  unpunished.  Under  the  Spanish 
regime,  at  the  first  notice  of  the  attack,  the  presidial  force 
of  San  Diego,  followed  by  the  troops  of  the  ranches,  would 
have  pursued  the  assassins  and  would  have  cruelly  made 
them  pay  for  their  dastardly  crime.  At  the  time  when  com- 
munication existed  between  Sonora  and  California,  one  had 
to  pass  from  the  ruined  Missions  of  San  Pedro  and  of  San 
Pablo  on  the  Colorado  River  to  Santa  Ysabel,  in  order  to 
reach  San  Diego.  . . . 

“The  Indians  of  Santa  Ysabel  make  good  the  deficiency 
in  their  crops  by  means  of  wild  grass  seeds,  acorns,  and 
the  flesh  of  stags  and  roebucks  which  are  very  plentiful. 
At  the  Mission,  they  manufactured  ordinary  woolen  and 
cotton  fabrics  ; hemp  also  grew  very  well,  but  the  sun  was 
too  hot  for  sugar  cane.  They  worked  also  a tannery  and 
made  soap  from  the  kelp  obtained  by  boiling  the  sea  weeds 
which  they  raked  together  on  the  shore  of  the  bay.  In 
the  hands  of  another  power,  the  port  of  San  Diego  would 
have  acquired  an  importance  very  quickly;  it  would  have 
joined  the  two  Calif ornias  and  Sonora,  and  could  have  be- 
come the  center  of  a numerous  population  and  of  an  exten- 
sive commerce/’ 15 


15  Mofras,  Exploration,  vol.  i,  pp.  334-339. 


Mission  San  Diego 


247 


An  event  of  the  highest  importance  was  the  arrival  of 
General  Manuel  Micheltorena,  the  new  governor  appointed 
for  California.  He  was  the  last  one  sent  over  from  Mexico. 
His  ship  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  on  August  25,  1842, 
seven  months  after  the  appearance  of  the  first  bishop.  He 
was  accompanied  by  ‘ a body  of  would.-be  soldiers  whom 
Alfred  Robinson  describes  in  this  fashion:  “I  saw  them 
land,  and  to  me  they  presented  a state  of  wretchedness  and 
misery  unequaled.  Not  one  individual  among  them  pos- 
sessed a jacket  or  pantaloons ; but  naked,  and  like  savage 
Indians,  they  concealed  their  nudity  with  dirty  miserable 
blankets.  The  females  (many  of  the  men  were  accom- 
panied by  their  wives)  were  not  much  better  off;  for  the 
scantiness  of  their  mean  apparel  was  too  apparent  for 
modest  observers.  They  appeared  like  convicts ; and,  in- 
deed, the  greater  portion  of  them  had  been  charged  with 
the  crime  of  either  murder  or  theft.  These  were  the  valiant 
followers  of  a heroic  general,  who  had  fought  on  the  battle- 
field, where  he  had  gained  laurels  for  himself  and  coun- 
try !”  Micheltorena  spent  several  weeks  at  San  Diego, 
organizing  and  drilling  his  convict  recruits  with  the  result 
that  Robinson  wrote,  “I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them 
all  afterwards  at  the  Pueblo  (Los  Angeles),  when  on  their 
route  to  Monterey.  They  mustered  three  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  and  their  general  had  given  them  a neat  uniform  of 
white  linen.”  16 

Following  the  instructions  of  the  Mexican  Government, 
Micheltorena  under  date  of  March  29,  1843,  issued  from 
Los  Angeles  a decree  restoring  the  missions  or  what  re- 
mained of  theiri  to  the  management  of  the  Franciscans. 
The  new  governor  explained  that  the  Indians  were  reluc- 
tant to  remain  under  the  secular  commissioners,  because 
“they  prefer  to  return  to  the  mountains  and  to  die  in  the 
wilderness  rather  than  to  drag  out  a life  of  slavery  full 
of  privations  and  without  any  social  pleasures.” 17  That 


16  Life  in  California,  pp.  212-213. 

17  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  ‘iv,  pp.  272-273. 


248  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

was  language  which  the  half-infidel  California  youths  would 
not  brook.  They  conspired  to  drive  Micheltorena  out  of 
the  territory  on  the  ground  that  he  would  not  return  his 
convict  soldiers  to  Mexico,  but  in  reality  because  he  had 
taken  the  part  of  the  Indian  neophytes  and  had  removed  the 
parasites  installed  by  Alvarado  against  the  will  of  the  Su- 
preme Government.  They  had  expelled  Victoria  for  a 

similar  reason ; they  had  forced  Chico  and  Gutierrez  to 
resign  their  office  of  governor ; so  the  clique  thought  it 
would  not  be  difficult  to  rid  themselves  of  the  honest  and 
upright  Micheltorena.  They  succeeded,  too.  Micheltorena 
resigned  on  February  22,  1845,  and  the  following  month 
he  and  the  troopers,  out  of  contempt  called  Cholos,  sailed 
from  Monterey  on  the  Don  Quixote , an  American  vessel. 

When  Fr.  Oliva  again  resumed  the  management  of  the 
mission  in  obedience  to  Micheltorena’s  decree  of  March  29, 
1843,  he  wrote  to  Fr.  Duran  that  all  that  was  left  of  the 
live  stock  were  four  cows,  five  calves,  and  one  bull.  In 
the  year  1834,  only  nine  years  previously,  the  mission  pos- 
sessed 3,000  head  of  cattle,  and  10,000  sheep ! Fr.  Duran, 
at  the  request  of  the  Government  of  Mexico,  sent  a report 
dated  February  29,  1844,  concerning  the  Missions  under  his 
jurisdiction.  With  regard  to  San  Diego,  he  writes  lacon- 
ically, “This  mission  has  always  been  a poor  one  and  hardly 
ever  had  enough  for  the  support  of  its  Indians ; but  to-day 
it  has  nothing.  Fr.  Vicente  Oliva  is  in  charge  of  a popula- 
tion that  may  number  one  hundred  souls.”  18 

Pio  Pico  again  assumed  control  of  the  territorial  govern- 
ment, after  the  departure  of  Micheltorena.  As  evidence  of 
what  was  uppermost  in  his  mind  on  March*  18,  1845,  only 
three  weeks  later,  aided  by  Carlos  A.  Carrillo  and  Ignacio 
del  Valle,  two  of  his  four  colleagues  in  the  legislature, 
he  proposed  not  only  another  confiscation  but  the  sale  of 
the  missions,  although  in  somewhat  disguised  terms.  De- 
spite the  emphatic  protest  of  Fr.  Narciso  Duran,  the  Presi- 


18  Missions  and  Missionaries , vol.-  iv,  pp.  280;  387;  433-509. 


Mission  San  Diego 


249 


dente  of  the  Missions,  this  was  accomplished  eventually  by 
the  decree  of  Pico’s  legislature  of  May  28,  1845,  and  lastly 
by  his  own  decree  issued  on  October  28,  1845. 

In  accordance  with  Pico’s  decree,  the  Mission,  that  is, 
what  had  not  yet  been  given  away  of  it,  was  illegally 
sold  over  the  heads  of  the  missionaries  and  of  the  Indian 
neophytes,  its  rightful  owners,  and  deeded  to  Santiago 
Argiiello  in  consideration  of  past  services  to  the  territorial 
government!  According  to  Smythe,  the  deed  of  sale  read 
as  follows : 

Being  previously  authorized  by  the  Departmental  Assembly  to  alle- 
viate the  Missions,  in  order  to  pay  their  debts  and  to  avoid  their  total 
ruin:  and  knowing  that  Don  Santiago  Argiiello  has  rendered  the  gov- 
ernment important  services  at  all  times,  and  has  also  given  aid  when 
asked,  for  the  preservation  of  the  legitimate  government  and  the  se- 
curity of  the  Department,  without  having  received  any  indemnification: 
and,  whereas,  this  gentleman  has,  for  his  own  personal  benefit  and 
that  of  his  numerous  family,  asked  to  purchase  the  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  with  all  the  lands  and  property  belonging  to  it,  both  in  town 
and  country,  he  paying  fully  and  religiously  the  debts  of  said  Mis- 
sion, which  may  be  established  by  the  reports  of  the  Committee  of 
Missions,  binding  himself  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  priests 
located  at  said  Mission,  and  of  Divine  Worship.  In  view  of  all  which 
I have  made  real  sale  and  perpetual  alienation  i®  of  it  forever,  to 
Don  Santiago  Argiiello,  according  to,  and  in  conformance  writh,  what 
has  been  agreed  upon,  with  all  the  appurtenances  found  and  known 
at  the  time  as  belonging  to  it,  whether  consisting  of  lands,  buildings, 
improved  real  estate,  or  cattle.2® 

“The  reader,”  Smythe  remarks,21  “will  not  fail  to  note 
the  pious  terms  in  which  the  instrument  was  drawn.  The 
object  of  the  transfer  was  ‘to  alleviate’  the  Mission,  and  to 
avoid  its  ‘total  ruin.’  The  purchaser  was  required  to  pro- 
vide for  the  support  of  the  priests  and  to  maintain  divine 
worship.  These  diplomatic  phrases  deceived  no  one,  and 
least  of  all  the  priests.  The  idea  of  a proprietary  mission 

is  Which  he  had  formally  been  forbidden  to  do  by  the  Mexican  Gov- 
ernment. See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  pp.  455;  501-509; 
756,  758;  768-771. 

20  History  of  San  Diego,  p.  73. 

21  Ibidem. 


250  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

dependent  for  its  support  upon  the  bounty  of  an  individual, 
must  have  been  repugnant  to  their  souls.  Certainly,  such 
an  arrangement  could  never  have  proven  workable,  but  it 
was  not  put  up  to  the  test.  The  war  came  on  with  swift 
footsteps,  and  when  it  had  passed,  Mexico  had  gone  the 
way  of  Spain/’  and,  Smythe  should  have  added,  the  mis- 
sion despoilers  ere  long  received  their  deserts.  For  the 
United  States  Courts  declared  the  “sale”  illegal,  and  deliv- 
ered the  property  to  the  Catholic  Church,  that  is  to  say 
whatever  under  Spanish  law  had  been  regarded  as  Church 
property.  The  only  losers  were  the  Indian  neophyte  owners 
of  the  land  and  stock  which  had  been  wasted  or  “granted” 
to  private  individuals.  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  volume 
four  of  Missions  and  Missionaries  and  will  study  the  whole 
sordid  transaction  of  Pico  and  of  the  so-called  Californians, 
he  will  easily  reach  just  conclusions. 

The  deed  of  sale  was  drawn  up  at  Los  Angeles,  signed  by 
Pio  Pico  and  countersigned  by  his  secretary  Jose  Matias 
Moreno,  on  June  8,  1846,  a month  before  the  United  States 
flag  was  hoisted  at  Monterey  and  the  territory  delivered 
of  unscrupulous  paisano  misrule. 

On  July  24,  1846,  while  fleeing  before  the  United  States 
troops,  Pio-  Pico  had  the  audacity  to  write  to  Fr.  Oliva, 
ordering  him  to  deliver  the  Mission  and  all  its  appurtenances 
to  Santiago  Arguello  by  means  of  an  inventory.22 

Pico  had  begun  early  to  dispose  of  the  lands  cultivated 
by  the  neophytes  for  themselves.  For  instance,  on  Decem- 
ber 15,  1845,  Miguel  Pedrorena  from  Santa  Barbara  thanked 
Pio  Pico  for  granting  the  tract  called  El  Cajon  to  his  wife.23 
But  that  grant  whetted  his  own  appetite;  for  on  January  2, 
1846,  the  same  Miguel  Pedrorena  wrote  to  Pio  Pico  ask- 
ing him  to  expedite  as  quickly  as  possible  the  grant  to  the 
tract  known  as  San  Jacinto  properly  belonging  to  Mission 
San  Luis  Rey,  “because  in  this  matter,  as  in  all  of  its  class, 
it  is  exceedingly  expedient  under  these  circumstances  to  be 


22  Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  p.  264;  390.  Bancroft  Collection. 

23  Cal.  Arch.,  Dep.  St.  Pap.,  vi,  pp.  458-461. 


Mission  San  Diego 


251 


placed  in  possession  on  account  of  the  possibility  of  the 
arrival  of  a commission  from  Mexico.  I have  already 
recommended  the  matter  to  Don  Luis  Argiiello,  so  that  he 
might  not  be  backward  because  it  would  prejudice  us.”  24 

With  these  hungry  henchmen  of  the  young  rulers  the 
question  of  right  and  wrong  was  not  worth  considering. 
All  they  asked  themselves  was:  will  it  prejudice  our  claims 
or  will  it  advance  them?  That  the  Indians  were  in  posses- 
sion from  time  immemorial  was  the  least  difficulty  these 
claimants  had  to  encounter.  With  them,  might  was  right. 
Accordingly,  on  July  8,  one  day  after  the  United  States 
had  taken  possession  of  California,  Narciso  Botello,  one  of 
the  Pico  legislators,  certified  to  the  grant  of  the  tract  called 
San  Jacinto  to  Miguel  F.  Pedrorena.25  Thus  was  done  all 
over  California.  Thus  the  lands  of  the  Missions  were 
manipulated  into  the  hands  of  claimants  without  regard  to 
the  rights  of  the  Indians,  who  under  Spanish  laws  would 
not  have  lost  a foot  of  their  property  against  their  will. 

Such  crying  injustice  and  heartless  selfishness,  however, 
could  not  long  remain  unpunished.  In  due  time,  the  pestif- 
erous activities  inaugurated  against  the  peaceful  mission 
homes  of  the  neophytes  by  Echeandia  and  continued  by  the 
unscrupulous  young  Californians,  bore  bitter  fruit.  They 
had  incited  the  Indians  to  disregard  the  missionaries  and 
to  conduct  themselves  as  free  men.  The  vicious  among  the 
neophytes  quickly  learned  the  lesson  and  put  it  into  prac- 
tice. They  joined  the  pagans  in  the  mountains  or  deserts 
and  raids  on  ranchos  for  the  purpose  of  stealing  horses 
were  thereafter  a common  occurrence.  “Occasionally,”  says 
Smythe,  “some  of  the  Indians,  who  had  been  at  the  mis- 
sions, returned  to  their  old  haunts  and  led  in  raids.  The 
ranchmen  would  unite  and  go  into  the  hills  in  parties  of 
ten  or  twelve,  well  armed,  to  punish  the  thieves  and  to 
recover  the  live  stock.  They  would  frequently  recover  the 
stolen  property,  but  often  fierce  fights  took  place  in  which 


24  Cal.  Arch.,  Pep.  St.  Pap.,  vii,  p.  351. 

25  Cal.  Arcli.,  Pep.  St.  Pap.,  viii,  p.  409. 


252  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

as  many  as  eight  or  ten  Indians  would  be  killed,  as  well 
as  an  occasional  ranchman.  After  the  secularization  of  the 
missions,  the  conditions  of  the  Indians  became  very  miser- 
able, and  while  large  numbers  of  them  continued  to  live  in 
rancherias  and  practiced  the  rude  arts  which  they  had 

learned  from  the  missionaries,  the  others  were  forced  by 
want,  and  doubtless  also  led  by  inclination,  to  get  their 

living  by  joining  in  these  raids.  . . . Between  the  years 
1836  and  1840,  nearly  all  the  ranches  w’ere  plundered,  and 

agriculture  fell  to  a very  low  ebb.  In  the  spring  of  1836, 

there  were  loud  complaints,  but  the  soldiers  could  furnish 
no  protection,  as  they  were  without  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  savages  became  so  bold  that  they  even  made  raids  into 
the  town.” 26  So  the  secularization  was  a success,  indeed, 
in  that  it  had  successfully  impoverished  the  country  and 
had  aroused  the  latent  wild  instinct  of  the  Indians  whom 
the  missionaries  had  found  it  easy  to  restrain  without  the 
force  of  arms,  showing  thereby  that  their  system  was  the 
correct  one,  after  all. 

The  condition  of  the  military  post  was  especially  distress- 
ing. Doubtless  the  soldiers  wished  they  had  treated  the 
poor  missionaries  with  more  appreciation,  seeing  that  starva- 
tion and  nakedness  followed  their  removal  from  the  con- 
trol of  the  Indians.  Smythe  writes,  for  instance,  that  in 
April,  1834,  Lieutenant  Salazar  could  not  go  to  Monterey 
for  want  of  a shirt  and  jacket!  He  had  only  a poor  cloak 
to  cover  the  “frightful  condition  of  his  trousers.  There 
was  no  food  for  the  prisoners.  These  were,  therefore, 

farmed  out  to  any  citizen  who  would  feed  them.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1837,  fourteen  prisoners  were  engaged  on  public 
works — three  in  repairing  the  plaza  road,  and  several  more 
at  w’ork  on  the  courthouse  and  jail,  which  were  deemed 
more  urgent  than  the  church.  The  presidio  building  was 
abandoned  about  1835,  and  by  1840  it  was  in  ruins.  A 
few  half-starved  soldiers  lingered  as  a melancholy  reminder 


26  Histot'y  of  San  Diego,  pp.  1S1-182. 


Mission  San  Diego 


253 


of  former  glory.”  There  is  a tradition,  Smythe  affirms, 
that  in  1839  the  garrison  consisted  of  one  soldier  at  the 
presidio  and  eight  at  San  Luis  Rey,  and  that  they  disbanded 
in  September  in  order  to  escape  death  by  starvation.27 

‘‘Much  of  the  building  material  on  the  hill,”  the  same 
author  relates,  “had  by  this  time,  1839,  been  carried  down 
and  used  in  the  erection  of  the  new  town  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill.  The  church  and  other  remaining  buildings  were 
unroofed  by  the  commandant  and  the  tiles  sold  to  satisfy 
demands  which  he  had  against  the  government.”  28 

That  the  common  sufferings  had  caused  the  inhabitants 
of  San  Diego,  and  for  the  matter  of  that  everywhere  in 
California  at  the  time,  to  begin  to  recall  and  to  turn  wist- 
fully to  the  past,  is  evident  from  their  complaints,  one  of 
which  is  expressed  in.  the  following  official  paper : 

Monterey,  April  23,  1836.  Governor  Gutierrez  to  the  alcalde  of  Los 
Angeles  on  the  remonstrance  of  some  inhabitants  of  San  Diego,  re- 
lating to  the  evils  which  the  Decree  of  Secularization  had  brought  on. 

This  political  government  is  advised  of  the  official  letter  of  the 
fourteenth  of  the  present  month  sent  by  you  through  a special  mes- 
senger, and  enclosing  the  nature  of  the  proceedings  of  that  illustrious 
council  and  the  remonstrance  made  to  the  same  municipality  on 
March  22  by  Juan  Bandini  and  several  other  gentlemen,  both  native 
and  foreigner,  inhabiting  said  port,  and  complaining  of  the  incursions 
which  in  that  part  of  the  country  the  Indians  are  making  in  search 
of  horses.  They  lament  the  decay  which  the  missions  have  undergone 
because  of  the  law  and  subsequent  Reglamento  for  their  seculariza- 
tion, which  were  a damage  to  the  agriculture  of  the  missions  and 
caused  the  losses  which  for  this  reason  the  commerce  of  the  territory 
is  suffering.  They  conclude  with  an  apostrophe  to  the  military  of  the 
privations  they  suffer,  and  propose  as  a remedy  the  creation  of  a 
Junta  or  General  Assembly,  composed  of  military  officials,  the  clergy, 
and  the  town  councils,  who  should  direct  their  energy  to  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  political  and  economical  condition  of  the  country,  repress 
the  robberies  of  the  Indians,  encourage  agriculture  and  commerce, 
etc.29 

Nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  the  petition.  At  all 


27  History  of  San  Diego,  p.  128. 

28  Ibidem,  p.  129. 

29  Cal.  Arch.,  St.  Pap.,  Angeles,  xi,  pp.  293-296. 


254  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


events,  the  raids  continued,  as  a report  of  Santiago  Argiiello, 
comandante  of  the  port  of  San  Diego,  dated  July  6,  1837, 
demonstrates.  “The  administrator  of  the  Mission  of  San 
Diego,”  he  writes,  “notified  me  to-day  that  last  night  at  the 
second  watch  hostile  Indians  fell  upon  Rancho  of  San  Ber- 
nardo, killed  the  corporal,  the  cheese-maker,  and  a shepherd, 
and  wounded  the  son  of  the  puppet-show  man,  and  that 
they  have  killed  them.”  30 

“Respecting  the  other  pueblos  of  the  district,  Las  Flores, 
San  Dieguito,  and  San  Pasqual,”  says  Bancroft,  “we  have 
a few  meager  items  for  the  years  1841-1842,  just  enough 
to  indicate  their  continued  existence.  After  1842  nothing 
appears  in  the  records  of  this  period,  though  San  Pasqual 
certainly  and  Las  Flores  probably  were  not  wholly  aban- 
doned unti]  after  1845.” 

The  items  referred  to  by  Bancroft  are  these:  Tadeo  and 
Jose  Barrena  were  jneces  de  campo  for  San  Dieguito,  April, 
1841.  Pio  Pico  was  cncargcido  of  Las  Flores  in  1842.  In 
February,  March,  and  April  there  was  much  dissatisfaction 
among  the  Indians  of  Las  Flores  with  the  Picos.  The  juez 
went  to  see  them  and  explained  that  Pico  still  had  authority; 
but  he  appointed  three  Indian  alcaldes  here  and  also  at 
San  Pasqual  and  . San  Dieguito,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Indians.  Pico  required  them  to  fence  in  their  land  in 
order  to  keep  out  his  ( !)  cattle.  Mofras  says  (vol.  i,  p.  343) 
that  there  were  400  Indians  at  Las  Flores  in  1842.  Later 
figures  there  are  none.  In  October,  1841,  an  Indian  girl  at 
San  Pasqual  committed  suicide.  In  February,  1841,  J.  A. 
Yorba  applied  for  a lot  500  by  400  varas  at  Las  Flores, 
which  was  also  called  San  Pedro ; but  the  grant  was  refused, 
as  the  land  would  not  support  more  people  than  were  there 
already.31 


30  Hayes,  Mission  Boole,  vol.  i,  p.  322 ; Bancroft  Collection, 
si  Bancroft,  vol.  iv,  p.  628. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Last  Baptism  at  Mission. — Estuclillo  in  Charge. — Last  Franciscan. — 
United  States  Soldiers  at  San  Diego. — General  Kearny  and  Com- 
modore Stockton. — Mormon  Battalion. — Pico  ’s  Bill  of  Sale  of 
Mission. — Argiiello  Disclaims  Ownership. — Correspondence. — Miss 

Lorenzana  on  Condition  of  Mission  Goods. — Sacred  Vessels  Dese- 
crated.— Jose  Estudillo  Resigns. — Colonel  Stevenson  to  Governor 
Mason. — Halleck  to  Stevenson  on  Mission  Property. — Halleck  to 
Fr.  Gonzalez  Rubio. — Fr.  Gonzalez  to  Colonel  Stevenson. — Lt.  Orel’s 
Description  of  the  Old  Town  and  Harbor. — Mission. — Mission 
Goods  Once  More. — Bartlett  on  the  Mission. — Archbishop  Alemany’s 
Claim  to  Property  Affirmed. — Land  Grants. — Ranchos  Claimed  and 
Granted. — Bartlett’s  Description. — The  Camino  Real. 

THE  church  building  and  other  portions  of  the  mission 
must  have  been  in  a tolerably  serviceable  condition  all 
these  years,  for  on  June  14,  1846,  Fr.  Vicente  writes  in  the 
Baptismal  Register,  “On  this  day,  in  the  church  of  this 
Mission  of  San  Diego,  I solemnly  baptized  a child  seventeen 
days  old,  the  legitimate  son  of  Jose  de  la  Luz  and  Teresa 
his  wife,  Indians  of  the  presidio,  to  whom  I gave  the  name 
Jose  Antonio.  The  godmother  was  Candelaria  who  is  mar- 
ried to  Juan  Cheriguita.”  The  entry  bears  number  7,126. 
It  was  the  last  made  by  Fr.  Oliva  and  is  also  the  last  in 
the  second  book  of  Baptisms. 

Fr.  Oliva  then  retired  to  San  Juan  Capistrano  and  from 
there  he  named  Jose  Antonio  Estudillo  administrator  of 
Mission  San  Diego,  in  order  that,  during  the  absence  of  a 
priest,  he  might  care  for  what  was  left  of  the  mission.1 
From  San  Juan  Capistrano,  in  October,  1847,  Fr.  Oliva 
wrote  to  the  military  commander,  whose  headquarters  were 
at  Los  Angeles,  and  complained  against  the  captain  of 
the  United  States  soldiers  at  San  Diego.  His  charge  was 
that  the  said  captain  had  given  orders  to  remove  the  tiles 
from  the  habitations  of  Mission  San  Diego,  and  that  other 


i Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  p.  390,  Bancroft  Collection. 


256  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

goods  which  ought  to  be  respected  as  sacred  had  been  taken 
to  the  presidio.  He  begged,  therefore,  that  the  said  captain 
be  prohibited  from  disposing  of  them.2 

This  is  the  last  reference  to  the  last  Franciscan  connected 
with  Mission  San  Diego.  What  the  articles  were  is  not 
indicated.  The  complaint  requires  a brief  explanation.  The 
United  States  sloop  Cyanc,  commanded  by  Captain  F.  Dupont, 
arrived  from  Monterey  in  the  harbor  on  July  29,  1846.  The 
marines  numbered  about  eighty  men.  Lieutenant  Maddox 
in  command  of  a guard  of  marines  was  sent  ashore  in  the 
afternoon  in  order  to  take  possession  of  the  town  and  to 
hoist  the  American  flag.  Toward  evening.  Captain  John  C. 
Fremont  with  about  eighty  soldiers  went  ashore.  They 
experienced  no  opposition  whatever.  The  naval  flag  used  on 
this  occasion  was  raised  on  the  plaza  of  Old  Town.  On 
December  7,  after  his  fight  at  San  Pascual,3  General  Stephen 
W.  Kearny  with  a small  party  of  exhausted  men,  reached 
the  presidio  and  remained  at  San  Diego  to  recuperate  before 
marching  on  to  Los  Angeles.  It  does  not  appear  that  any 
of  the  force,  now  camped  at  the  port,  took  up  quarters  at 
the  mission,  nor  that  they  committed  any  acts  of  vandalism. 
The  situation  at  the  harbor  is  described  in  a report  of 
United  States  Quartermaster,  Thomas  Swords,  dated  October 
8,  1847. 

On  our  arrival  at  San  Diego,  finding  no  provisions  or  supplies  of 
any  kind,  except  those  belonging  to  the  navy,  who  were  themselves 
on  a short  allowance,  and  being  unable  to  procure  anything  in  the 
country  but  cattle,  I was  directed  by  General  Kearny  to  proceed  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  funds  and  the 
necessary  articles  for  the  quartermaster’s  subsistence  and  medical 
department.4 

Soon  after  his  arrival.  Commodore  Stockton  issued  the 
following  order: 

From  this  date,  August  the  15th,  1846,  the  tonnage  duties  on  all 


2 Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  p.  389,  Bancroft  Collection, 

s See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  572-573. 

4 Message  of  the  President.  House  of  Representatives.  Thirtieth 
Congress.  Executive  Document,  No.  1,  p.  228. 


Mission  San  Diego 


257 


foreign  vessels  arriving  in  the  ports  of  California  will  be  fifty  cents 
per  ton.  And  the  duties  on  all  goods  imported  from  foreign  parts  will 
be  fifteen  per  cent  “ad  valorem,”  payable  in  three  instalments  of 
30,  80,  and  120  days. 

R.  F.  Stockton, 

Commander-in-Chief  and  Governor  of  the 
Territory  of  California.5 

On  January  29,  1847,  the  Mormon  Volunteer  Battalion 
arrived  at  San  Diego  from  the  east  and  they  appear  to  have 
taken  up  their  quarters  at  the  Mission.  At  all  events, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Philip  Cooke,  on  January  30,  issued  his 
first  general  order  to  the  Battalion  from  “Headquarters 
Mormon  Battalion,  Mission  San  Diego.”  In  this  order,  he 
congratulated  and  praised  the  battalion  for  their  past  con- 
duct.6 On  February  1,  they  left  for  San  Luis  Rey,  where 
part  of  the  force  remained  two  months.  A company  occupied 
also  the  port  at  San  Diego.  How  long  they  stayed  is  un- 
certain, though  the  following  letter  throws  some  light  on 
the  matter  and  on  others  mentioned  before  and  it  also  in 
some  way  explains  Fr.  Oliva’s  letter. 

San  Diego,  October  17,  1847. — Daniel  C.  Davis,  Captain  First  Com- 
pany Mormon  Volunteers,  Commander  at  San  Diego,  to  Colonel  J.  D. 
Stevenson.  On  Affairs  of  San  Diego  Mission. 

The  occupant  of  the  Mission  states  he  was  left  in  charge  of  the 
Mission  and  propertv  in  August,  1846,  by  Fr.  Vicente  Oliva,  now 
residing  at  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano.  A power  of  attorney  from 
said  Fr.  Oliva  to  Jose  A.  Estudillo  shows  he  still  claims  jurisdiction 
of  the  property. 

Santiago  Argiiello  has  also  a claim,  purporting  to  be  a sale  to  him 
of  the  Mission  by  Pio  Pico,  when  he  was  governor  of  California. 

According  to  the  best  information  upon  California  affairs,  the  claim 
founded  on  that  sale  is  not  valid,  besides  the  order  for  the  delivery  of 
the  property  has  not  been  executed. 

Alleged  Bill  of  Sale  to  Santiago  Argiiello  from  Governor  Pico:  — 

A full  conveyance  and  sale  to  Santiago  Argiiello  of  the  Mission  of 
San  Diego  in  consideration  of  his  long  public  services  and  assistance 
given  the  government  for  which  he  has  not  been  indemnified,  on  the 
following  conditions:  7 1.  He  shall  pay  to  the  creditors  the  debts  of 

the  Mission.  2.  From  the  date  all  expenses  to  support  an  efficient 

5 Executive  Document,  No.  60,  p.  270. 

6 Bancroft,  vol.  v,  pp.  486-487. 

~ This  statement  is  corroborated  by  Pio  Pico  himself.  He  says : 


258  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Curate  and  public  worship  to  be  paid  by  S.  Argiiello.  3.  No  one  shall 
allege  lesion  enorme — any  excess  in  value  to  remain  in  favor  of  the 
purchases,  no  one  offering  more  therefor.  4.  Except  from  above  sale 
the  Church  and  all  pertaining  thereto  and  the  residence  of  the  offi- 
ciating priest. 

The  deed  purports  to  bear  the  signature  of  Pio  Pico. 

Remarks.  Said  Mission  still  in  possession  of  the  officiating  priest 
Fr.  Vicente  Oliva.  Don  Santiago  told  me  in  private  conversation  in 
June  last  that  he  had  not  claimed  possession  awaiting  the  action  of 
the  American  government;  that  he  did  not  think  the  former  California 
government  had  a right  to  dispose  of  the  prorterty  of  the  Indians  in 
this  manner;  but  that  as  others  were  buying  Missions,  he  might  as 
well  have  one  too,  supposed  to  have  been  given  August  8,  1846,  bat 
ante-dated .» 

Sergeant  Tyler  of  the  Mormon  Battalion  says,  “The  build- 
ings of  the  old  Catholic  Mission  of  San  Diego  were  dilapi- 
dated, and  only  used  by  a few  rather  filthy  Indians.  The 
olive,  date,  and  some  ornamental  trees  were  found  in  the 
garden  of  the  Mission.” * * * * *  9 

On  the  same  day,  Captain  Davis  addressed  Fr.  Oliva  to 
this  effect : 

San  Diego,  October  17,  1847. 

Dear  Sir: — I enclose  you  the  copy  of  a circular  received  by  me  from 
Governor  Mason  requiring  the  occupants  or  claimants  of  certain  Mis- 
sions or  Mission  property  to  furnish  Col.  J.  D.  Stevenson  or  such  per- 
son as  he  may  designate  for  that  purpose,  copies  of  all  contracts  or 
agreements  by  which  they  hold  possession  of  said  property. 

In  relation  therefore  to  San  Diego  Mission,  I am  authorized  by  Col. 
Stevenson  to  require  of  you  copies  of  all  contracts  or  agreements  by 
which  you  hold  possession  of  the  Mission  or  Mission  property. 

Yours  Very  Respectfully, 

Daniel  C.  Davis, 

Capt.  1st  Comp.  Mor.  Vol., 
Commanding  San  Diego. 

Father  Vicente  Oliva,  San  Juan.10 


“La  Mision  de  San  Diego  se  le  dio  al  Cap.  Santiago  Argiiello  en  pago 

de  sus  servicios,  pues  se  le  debian  los  sueldos  de  muchos  anos. ' ’ — Pio 

Pico,  Bocumentos,  ii,  171-172. 

s Sta.  Barb.  Arch.;  Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  pp.  97-99,  Ban- 

croft Collection.  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  p.  763. 

9 Tyler,  The  Mormon  Battalion,  p.  254. 

19  Fr.  Oliva  perhaps  said  nothing.  Nor  was  it  necessary  in  view  of 


Mission  San  Diego 


259 

The  following-  correspondence  explains  itself : 

Viva  Jesus! 

San  Juan  Capistrano, 

January  25,  1848. 

Rev.  Fr.  Presidente  Jose  Joaquin  Jimeno. 

My  Very  Rev.  Father: 

After  saluting  Your  Reverence  with  the  respect  and  affection  which 
I entertain  for  you,  I pass  on  to  communicate  to  Your  Reverence  by 
means  of  this  letter  that  from  persons  worthy  of  credit  we  have 
received  notice  that  the  doors  of  the  church  of  Mission  San  Diego  have 
been  removed;  and  that  from  the  wardrobes,  in  which  the  sacred  ves- 
sels and  other  valuables  usually  adorning  the  altar  were  preserved, 
they  took  out  the  chalices  and  silver  candlesticks.  It  is  not  known 
what  other  valuables  they  may  have  taken  out,  because  some  have 
been  found  buried  in  the  arroyo,  others  in  the  taverns,  and  others  in 
the  smithy  of  the  Americans,  already  broken  to  pieces.  And  through 
the  same  persons  who  have  furnished  this  information  it  is  known  that 
this  wickedness  and  robbery  must  be  attributed  to  the  American  sol- 
diers. Therefore,  Father  Presidente,  this  information  has  been  very  sad 
and  painful  to  me.  Hence  I was  determined  to  bring  away  all  the 
vestments  and  valuables  of  said  church;  but  I shall  not  do  so  until 
I know  the  pleasure  and  will  of  Your  Reverence  and  of  the  Admin- 
istrator of  the  diocese,  to  whom  also  I am  writing  the  same  news. 
I also  wish  to  tell  Your  Reverence  that  in  case  permission  is  granted 
me  to  take  away  all  those  goods  of  the  church  as  soon  as  it  pleases 
God,  I oblige  myself  to  go  there  and  fetch  them  as  soon  as  I can; 
for  just  now  I have  no  mind  to  go  to  San  Diego,  in  order  not  to 
deprive  myself  longer  of  spiritual  comfort,  etc. 

Meanwhile,  I remain  Your  Reverence’s  most  obedient  Apolinaria 
Lorenzana.n 

Miss  Lorenzana  was  a most  worthy  woman,  who  devoted 
her  life  to  taking  care  of  the  church  goods  and  ornaments, 
and  doing  charitable  works  generally.  She  will  be  heard 
of  again  at  San  Juan  Capistrano  where  she  lived  at  this 
period.  The  following  document  explains  some  of  the 
contents  of  her  letter. 

San  Diego,  February  7,  1848. 

Very  Rev.  Fr.  Jose  Joaquin  Jimeno: — 

In  my  two  previous  letters  I have  made  known  to  Your  Reverence 


Gen.  Kearny’s  Proclamation  issued  March  22,  1847.  See  Missions  and 
Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  pp.  583-584. 

11  Sta.  Barb.  Arch. 


260  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


FRONT  DOOR  OF  MISSION  CHURCH. 


SHOWS  STYLE  OF  CARVING. 


Mission  San  Diego 


261 


all  that  has  occurred  in  the  Mission  of  San  Diego,  and  to-day  I 
bring  to  your  knowledge  that  I have  discovered  in  a net  in  the  sand 
of  this  arroyo  the  following:  one  silver  ciborium,  three  chalices,  one 
patena,  two  stocks  for  large  silver  candlesticks,  six  sockets  for  silver 
candlesticks,  two  pieces  of  silver  the  purpose  of  which  I do  not  know, 
two  smaller  silver  candlesticks,  etc. 

Besides  these  things  some  pieces  of  coin  were  found  which  had  been 
robbed  and  some  tablets  with  two  moulds,  all  of  which  1 have  de- 
livered to  the  judge  together  with  all  the  dates  that  I could  find. 
Till  now  nothing  has  been  taken  away.  Wishing  to  give  Your  Pater- 
nity correct  information  on  what  may  be  wanting,  I wrote  to  San 
Juan  to  Dona  Apolinaria,  who  has  knowledge  about  everything  in  the 
church,  and  who,  as  I was  aware,  had  taken  away  some  things  by 
order  of  the  deceased  Father  in  order  to  make  arrangements  for  Holy 
Week;  but  to  this  date  I have  received  no  reply.  Neither  the  holy 
sepulcher  nor  the  tabernacle  have  been  found.  If  they  are  not  at  San 
Juan,  I believe  they  have  been  stolen. 

I wish  that  Your  Reverence  would  reply  to  me  regarding  the  mat- 
ter; for  I wish  to  sever  my  connection  with  it  for  reasons  that  are 
highly  disagreeable  to  me.  I have  cheerfully  taken  part  in  the  affair 
only  because  the  crime  should  not  remain  unpunished;  but  I have  no 
hope  of  effecting  anything.  I wish  Your  Reverence  good  health,  and 
offering  you  my  services,  I beg  to  remain, 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

Jose  A.  Estudillo.12 

On  August  9,  1848,  Colonel  Stevenson  wrote  to  Governor 
Mason : 

No  person  is  willing  to  remain  long  in  charge  of  Mission  San 
Diego.  If  the  Mission  is  left  in  its  present  state,  the  property  will 
soon  disappear.  The  movable  property  should  be  sold  at  once  and 
the  proceeds  paid  into  the  civil  treasury.  Some  old  Indians  still  re- 
main who  claim  support  from  the  mission  property.  If  the  claim  is 
just  they  might  receive  a beef  ration  from  the  post,  or  an  arrange- 
ment might  be  made  with  some  citizens  of  San  Diego  to  take  a few 
head  of  cattle  and  maintain  the  Indians  during  life.  The  property 
is  worth  something  now;  in  a few  months  there  will  be  nothing  left. is 

In  reply  came  this  note : * 

State  Department  Territory  of  California, 

Monterey,  August  18,  1848. 

Sir: — I have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  August  9, 
and  the  enclosed  inventory  of  property  belonging  to  the  Mission  of 


12  Sta.  Barb.  Arch.  A pity  that  the  two  letters  mentioned  are  lost. 
They  would  have  set  clear  things  now  obscure. 

is  Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  p.  159,  Bancroft  Collection. 


262  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


San  Diego.  You  will  perceive  from  the  enclosed  copy  of  a letter  of 
this  date  to  Padre  Gonzales,,  that  Colonel  Mason  had  directed  the 
property  to  be  placed  at  his  disposition. 

Very  respectfully,  etc., 

H.  W.  Halleck,  etc. 

The  order  of  Governor  Mason  to  which  Halleck  refers 
reads  as  follows : 

State  Department  Territory  of  California, 

Monterey,  August  18,  1848. 

Very  Reverend  Sir: — Enclosed  herewith  is  an  inventory  of  the  mova- 
ble and  self -moving  property  belonging  to  the  Mission  of  San  Diego, 
now  in  the  hands  of  Philip  Crostwait.14  The  governor  directs  that 
this  property  be  delivered  to  your  reverence,  to  be  disposed  of  as  your 
reverence  may  deem  proper.  It  had  better  be  taken  care  of  imme- 
diately, for  if  neglected  for  a few  months  it  will  entirely  disappear. 
I have  the  honor  to  be  your  reverence’s  most  obedient  servant, 

H.  W.  Halleck, 
Lieutenant  of  Engineers  and 
Secretary  of  State. 

To  the  Very  Reverend  Jose  Maria  de  Jesus  Gonzales,  Governor  of 
the  Bishopric  of  California,  Santa  Barbara.15 

Fr.  Gonzales  Rubio,  the  Administrator  of  the  diocese,  on 
September  8,  wrote  to  Colonel  Stevenson,  concerning  the 
renting  of  Mission  San  Diego,  as  follows: 

I have  received  your  letter  of  the  sixth  of  this  month,  in  which 
you  communicate  that  you  have  received  orders  from  Governor  Mason 
to  place  at  my  disposition  the  Mission  of  San  Diego,  but  before  re- 
ceiving said  orders  the  Mission  had  been  for  two  years  rented  to  a pri- 
vate individual  charged  writh  its  care.  In  reply,  I have  to  say  that 
on  August  29  I received  a letter  from  the  Secretary,  H.  W.  Halleck, 
in  which  he  says  that  through  the  disposition  of  the  governor  he  is 
sending  an  inventory  of  the  goods  and  live  stock  of  the  Mission;  but 
as  this  concerns  not  me  but  the  Commissary  Prefect  of  the  Missions, 
Fr.  Jose  Joaquin  Jimeno,  I transmit  those  original  documents  to  said 
Prefect.1® 

On  September  10,  Fr.  Jimeno  wrote  to  the  governor,  in- 


14  He  was  the  lessee  of  the  Mission  at  the  time  and  received  the 
property  by  inventory  from  E.  L.  Brown,  on  August  6,  1848.  See 
Appendix  F. 

15 Executive  Document , No.  17,  Bouse  of  'Representatives , Thirty- 
first  Congress,  p.  596.  Spanish  Ms.  copy  in  Sta.  Bart).  Arch. 

!6  Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  pp.  214-215,  Bancroft  Collection. 


Mission  San  Diego 


263 


quiring  as  to  the  manner  of  delivering  the  property  of 
Mission  San  Diego  which  the  governor  ordered  turned  over 
to  the  Father  Superior,  and  that  he  would  confer  with 
Fr.  Gonzales  Rubio  on  the  matter. 17 

Unfortunately,  nothing  seems  to  have  been  done  for  more 
than  a year;  for,  on  November  6,  1849,  Lieutenant  E.  O.  C. 
Ord,  of  Third  Artillery,  reporting  to  Major  A.  R.  S.  Canby 
on  his  trip  to  the  Mission  writes  as  follows: 

“Here  (San  Diego)  there  is  a good  frigate  harbor — the 
quietest  on  this  coast.  The  steamers  have  established  their 
coal  depot  at  this  place  in  preference  to  San  Francisco.  The 
entrance,  about  two  hundred  yards  wide,  is  of  easy  defense. 
The  town  containing  about  twenty  badly  built  adobe  houses 
and  two  good  ones,  is  five  miles  from  the  anchorage ; a road 
leads  around  the  bay  shore,  bordered  by  naked  hills.  Small 
boats  can  not  get  within  half  a mile  of  the  town  (i.e.  Old 
Town)  owing  to  the  shallow  water  and  marsh  mud.  The 
town  was  built  here  because  it  is  the  only  point  on  the  bay 
where  a good  supply  of  water  can  be  had  from  the  little 
river  which  here  in  summer  empties  its  waters  into  the 
bay.  In  the  autumn  these  waters  dry  or  sink  into  the  sandy 
bed.  I followed  this  bed  of  sand  through  its  valley  amongst 
low  cactus  covered  clay  hills,  seven  miles , to  the  mission. 
There  I found  the  old  zvalls  tumbling  in,  and  everything 
going  to  ruins.  The  zineyard  and  olive  trees  still  produced 
a few  fruit.  The  library  should  be  placed  in  charge  of  some 
one  interested  in  its  preservation.  From  the  mission  along 
the  river  it  is  about  five  miles  more  to  a gap  in  the  hills, 
where  the  valley  heads.  Near  this  gap  are  a few  sycamore 
trees  and  willow  bushes,  the  only  timber  in  the  valley.  This 
valley,  though  much  smaller  than  that  of  Carmel,  has  good 
soil,  and  if  cultivated  would  perhaps  maintain  three  or  four 
hundred  inhabitants.  There  is  still  in  good  preservation 
an  aqueduct  leading  from  the  running  water  in  the  hills  to 
the  mission,  which  with  a little  more  care  would  supply 
water  for  irrigation  to  the  whole  valley/’  Writing  from 

37  Cal.  Arch.,  Unbound  Documents,  p.  391,  Bancroft  Collection. 


264  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Monterey  a few  days  previously,  on  October  31,  1849,  Lieu- 
tenant Ord  said,  “Many  emigrants  arriving  at  San  Diego 
are  destitute ; neither  bread,  flour,  nor  sugar  can  be  purchased 
there/’ 18 

One  more  document  is  found  touching  this  matter.  It 
reads : 

State  Department  of  California, 

Monterey,  July  2,  1849. 

Major: — I am  directed  by  General  Riley  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  June  4,  respecting  certain  property  belonging  to  the 
Mission  of  San  Diego.  Governor  Mason,  in  August  last,  authorized 
the  turning  over  of  this  property  to  Padre  Gonzales  of  Santa  Barbara; 
but  if  neither  the  Padre  nor  his  agents  take  possession  of  it,  and  it 
is  likewise  to  be  lost  or  injured  from  neglect,  you  are  authorized  to 
dispose  of  it  by  sale,  turning  over  the  proceeds  to  Captain  Lyon,  as 
1 1 civil  funds.  * * 

Very  Respectfully,  etc., 

H.  W.  Halleck, 

Brevet  Captain,  etc. 

Major  S.  P.  Heintzelman, 

Commanding,  San  Diego,  Cal.1 9 

“Six  miles  from  the  town  of  San  Diego,”  writes  Bartlett, 
who  visited  the  place  in  May,  1852,  “following  up  the  valley, 
is  the  venerable  Mission  of  the  same  name,  a spot  possessing 
great  picturesque  beauty,  and  surrounded  by  fertile  and  well 
watered  lands.  It  was  the  last  of  the  California  mission  that 
was  abandoned ; and  but  five  years  ago  its  ancient  library 
and  its  priests  still  remained.  The  buildings,  which  are  of 
adobe,  are  not  extensive,  but  are  in  good  preservation.  They 
possess  more  of  an  oriental  appearance  than  any  similar 
establishment.  There  was  formerly  a large  vineyard  and 
orchard,  containing  figs,  peaches,  etc.,  a portion  of  which 
is  still  in  existence.  The  place  is  celebrated  also  for  a flour- 
ishing  orchard  of  olive  trees,  which  still  remain  yielding  a 
great  abundance  of  olives,  the  excellence  of  which  we  had 
an  opportunity  of  tasting  on  our  homeward  journey.  The 


Executive  Document,  No.  47,  Thirty-first  Congress,  1st  Session, 
Senate,  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  pp.  122-123;  120. 

19  HaUeck’s  Eeport,  p.  796. 


Mission  San  Diego 


265 


mission  is  at  present  occupied  by  United  States  troops  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  J.  B.  Magruder,  and  in  consequence 
is  kept  in  good  repair.”  20 

The  Mission  lands  were  claimed  by  Archbishop  Jose  Sadoc 
Alemany  of  San  Francisco  for  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
finally  they  were  so  adjudged  by  the  United  States  Land 
Commission,  on  December  18,  1855.  The  property  was 
confirmed  to  the  Catholic  Church  in  virtue  of  the  Spanish 
laws  on  the  subject.  It  comprised  the  church  buildings, 
priests’  dwelling,  the  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards.21 
The  extent  of  land  thus  assigned  varied.  For  Mission  San 
Diego,  the  land  confirmed  to  Bishop  Alemany,  on  May  23, 
1862,  amounted  to  22:21  acres.22 

Land  grants  to  individuals  were  made  at  an  early  date. 
The  first  one,  indeed,  at  the  instance  of  Fr.  Junipero  Serra 
himself.23  Nor  were  the  Fathers  averse  to  granting  lands 
provided  the  rights  and  needs  of  the  neophytes  were  safe- 
guarded, and  provided  the  petitioners  would  prove  suitable 
neighbors.  Both  conditions  must  appeal  to  any  unprejudiced, 
fair-minded  man.  The  land  belonged  to  the  Indians.  Ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  Spain,  no  part  of  the  land  could  be 
taken  from  the  Indians  against  their  will,  so  long  as  they 
cultivated  it  or  occupied  it  for  any  purpose.  The  mission- 
aries, being  the  guardians  of  the  Indians,  had  to  see  that  their 
rights  in  this  respect  were  recognized.  By  the  year  1800, 
frequently  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  missionaries, 
numerous  grants  had  been  made  in  various  parts  of  Cali- 
fornia, not  excepting  the  San  Diego  district.  Here  the 
first  attempt  was  made  to  seize  land  which  had  been  culti- 
vated and  used  by  the  Mission  for  the  neophytes ; but  surely 
the  Indians  never  expected  that  others  were  to  enjoy  what 
they  had  made  valuable  by  their  labor  under  the  guidance 
of  the  missionaries.  The  same  view  must  be  taken  with 


20  Bartlett,  John  Russel,  Personal  Narrative,  pp.  103-104. 

21  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  p.  745. 

22  Smythe,  History  of  San  Diego,  p.  113.  See  Appendix  G.. 

23  See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii,  pp.  638-643. 


266  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

regard  to  all  the  ranches  named,  which  were  cultivated  or 
otherwise -used  by  the  neophytes  in  charge  of  the  Franciscans, 
but  which  contrary  to  their  expectations  were  delivered  to 
others  than  neophytes.  In  the  light  of  these  remarks,  the 
pathetic  statement  made  by  Colonel  Stevenson  on  the  action 
of  some  of  the  Indians  at  the  deserted  Mission  emphasizes 
the  injustice  inflicted.  “Some  old  Indians  still  remain,”  he 
reports  to  Governor  Mason,  in  August,  1848,  “who  claim 
support  from  the  mission  property.  If  it  is  a just  claim 
they  might  receive  a beef  ration  from  the  post,  or  an 
arrangement  might  be  made  with  some  citizens  of  San  Diego 
to  take  a few  cattle  and  maintain  them  during  life.” 

Various  attempts  at  land-grabbing  justly  failed,  because 
the  Fathers  protested  and  the  Spanish  law  was  still  in  force, 
protecting  the  rights  of  the  Indians  first  and  always.  But  no 
sooner  had  the  missionaries  been  removed  from  control 
through  the  act  of  confiscation  passed  by  the  California,  not 
the  Mexican,  government,  in  1834,  than  Ruiz  in  partnership 
with  F.  M.  Alvarado  succeeded  in  securing  the  nearly  9,000 
acres  of  the  Penasquito  Rancho.24 

Smythe,  in  his  History  of  San  Diego,  gives  the  following 
list  of  ranchos  in  San  Diego  County,  claimed  and  granted, 
with  the  number  of  acres  they  comprised. 


Name  of  Rancho  Claimants  lear  Granted  Acres 


Santa  Margarita  and 

Las  Flores Pio  and  Andres  Pico 

Mission  San  Diego Santiago  Argiiello . . . 

San  Jacinto  Nuevo Miguel  de  Pedrorena 

El  Cajon M.  A.  Pedrorena .... 

Santa  Rosa Juan  Moreno 

San  Jacinto  Viejo Jos.  A.  Estudillo.  . . 

Cuyamaca  Agustin  Olvera 

Rancho  Nacional John  Forster 

San  Jose  del  Valle 

(Warner’s  Ranch)  . . . . J.  J.  Warner 

Pauba  Luis  Vignes 


89,742:93 

1846 58,208:00 

1846 48,823:67 

48,799:34 

.Oct.  10,  1872.  .47,815:10 

1846 35,504:00 

35,501 :32 

.Aug.  3, 1858.  .26,631:94 

1846 26,629:88 

Jan.  19,  1860.  .26,597:96 


24  Bancroft,  vol.  ii,  pp.  547,  663 ; vol.  iii,  p.  612. 


M ission  San  Diego 


267 


Name  of  Bancho 


Claimants 


Year  Granted  Acres 


94 

00 

07 

40 

85 

96 

80 

90 

00 

01 


Temecula  Luis  Vignes Jail.  18,  1860.  .26,608: 

Sobrante  de  S.  Jacinto.  . Miguel  de  Pedrorena 

Rosario  E.  de  Aguirre 22,195 : 

San  Bernardo Jose  Francisco  Snooks 17,763: 

Santa  Isabel Jose  J oaquin  Ortega . . . May  4, 1872 . . 17,719 : 

Santa  Maria  (Pamo) ...  Jose  Joaquin  Ortega 

et  al July  30, 1872 . . 17,708 : 

San  Vicente Juan  Lopez 1846 13,539 : 

La  Laguna Abel  Stearns Sept.  3, 1872 . . 13,338 : 

Monserrate  Isidro  M.  Alvarado . . . July  17,  1872 . . 13,322  : 

Valle  de  las  Vie jas Ramon  and  Leandro 

Osuna  1846 13,314: 

Agua  Hedionda Juan  Maria  Marrou 13,311: 

Pauma  I-  A.  Serrano, 

J.  Aguilar, 

Bias  Aguilar May  3,  1871 ..  13,309  : 60 

Guejito  George  W.  Hamley . . . .May  24,  1866 . . 13,298 : 59 

Rincon  del  Diablo Heirs  of  J.  B. 

Alvarado  May  3, 1872 . . 12,653 : 77 

San  Felipe Juan  Forster Aug.  6,  1866..  9,972:08 

San  Marcos Jose  M.  Alvarado 8,978:29 

Jamacha  Apolinaria  Lorenzana 1840 8,881:16 

Jamul  Pio  Pico 8,876:00 

La  Jolla 8,872:00 

San  Dieguito Tuan  M.  Osuna 8,824:71 

Penasquitas  F.  M.  Ruiz  and 

F.  M.  Alvarado 8,486:01 

Otay  Magdalena  Estudillo 

et  al 1846 6,557:98 

Tecate  Tuan  Bandini 4,439:00 

Janal  Victoria  Dominguez  . .June  30,  1872.  . 4,436:00 

Los  Encinitos Andres  Ibarra Apr.  18,  1871.  . 4,431 :03 

Peninsula  of  San  Diego. . Arch.  C.  Peachy  and 

W.  H.  Aspinwall June  11, 1869 . . 4,185:46 

Guajome  Andres  and  -Jose 

Manuel  (Indians) 2,219:41 

Buena  Vista Felipe  (Indian) 2,219:08 

Potrero  de  San  Juan  Capistrano 1,167:74 

El  Cariso  and  La  Cienaga 1,167:00 

Mission  San  Luis  Rey.  .Bishop  J.  S.  Alemany.. Mar.  10, 1865. . 53:39 

Mission  San  Diego Bishop  J.  S.  Alemany. .May  23,  1862.  . 22:21 


268  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Those  not  accompanied  by  date  of  month  appear  to  have 
been  rejected  or  they  were  not  brought  before  the  Land 
Commission.25 

From  Bartlett  we  cull  a few  remarks  regarding  the  various 
ranchos  he  found  on  his  way  to  El  Paso,  Texas,  in  1852. 

“Ten  miles  from  San  Diego,  is  Soledad  Hill,  which  is  very 
steep  and  difficult  to  pass.  Several  families  have  lately 


CHAPEL  AND  BELLS  OF  SANTA  ISABEL. 


settled  here,  who  make  a profitable  business  of  cutting  the 
wild  oats  and  carrying  them  to  market  at  San  Diego. 

“In  the  afternoon,  we  reached  the  San  Pasqual  River,  a 


25  Smythe,  pp.  112-113;  for  the  various  transactions  of  this  kind  see 
Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iv,  pp.  747-777 ; also  Bancroft,  vol.  iii, 
pp.  611-612,  note  7.  Smythe  gives  no  references,  but  probably  he  con- 
sulted the  County  Clerk’s  Office. 


Mission  San  Diego 


269 


small  limpid  stream,  running  through  a rich  valley  covered 
with  fine  grass.  About  a mile  in  advance  we  saw  a large 
rancho.  This  was  the  hacienda  of  Mrs.  Snooks,  a Cali- 
fornia lady,  the  widow  of  an  Englishman.  . . The  distance 
to  San  Diego  is  called  thirty-six  miles.  San  Pasqual  was  the 
scene  of  an  action  between  the  United  States  troops  and 
those  of  Mexico.  May  29th  we  took  leave  of  our  hospitable 
friends ; and  continuing  across  the  plain  and  along  the  val- 
ley near  the  river,  we  reached,  in  six  miles,  the  Indian 
village  of  San  Pasqual,  consisting  of  forty  or  fifty  rude 
huts  of  mud,  grass,  and  poles.  A few  patches  of  ground 
seemed  to  be  cultivated ; but  on  the  whole  the  place  bore 
a miserable  appearance. 

“Santa  Isabel  is  an  Indian  village,  and  was  once  a place 
of  some  note,  when  the  missionary  establishments  were  in 
the  ascendancy.  A roofless  church  and  a few  miserable  huts 
are  now  all  that  remain.  Nevertheless  the  inhabitants  culti- 
vate the  soil,  and  by  means  of  irrigation,  which  they  well 
understood,  raise  wheat,  maize,  pumpkins,  and  beans.  The 
vine  succeeds  very  well  here,  and  was  formerly  cultivated 
to  a considerable  extent.  Several  of  the  Indians,  who  belong 
to  the  Diegueno  tribe,  visited  our  camp  to-day.  (May  30). 
They  were  dressed  in  their  holiday  clothes,  such  as  red  and 
white  shirts ; while  the  chief  Tomaso,  who  seemed  an  intel- 
ligent man,  wore  an  old  coat  trimmed  with  silver  lace,  which 
had  once  belonged  to  some  Mexican  soldier. 

“We  pushed  on  to  the  Indian  village  of  San  Felipe,  near 
which  we  encamped.  The  distance  traveled  (from  Santa 
Isabel)  was  twenty-eight  miles.  Early  in  the  morning 
(June  2)  our  tents  were  thronged  with  Indians,  who  ap- 
peared to  belong  to  the  Diegueno  tribe.  They  were  a filthy 
looking  set,  half  clad  ^and  apparently  half  starved.  During 
the  day,  we  saw  many  men  and  women  wading  about  the 
marsh  gathering  roots  and  seeds;  of  which  two  articles  and 
acorns,  their  principal  food  consists.  The  women  appear  to 
be  the  chief  laborers,  the  men  lounging  about  the  camp 
most  of  the  day.  The  improvidence  of  this  people  seems 


2jo  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


almost  incomprehensible.  A very"  little  exertion  would  have 
repaid  them  with  all  the  wheat,  maize,  and  vegetables,  re- 
quired for  their  subsistence.  To  these  they  might  add  a few 
cattle,  which,  in  this  country,  may  be  obtained  for  a mere 
trifle  from  the  ranchos,  whose  increase  in  this  fine  valley 
would  give  them  a plentiful  supply  of  meat.  As  it  is  they 
have  neither  corn  nor  meat,  and  spend  ten  times  as  much 
labor  in  collecting  the  roots,  seeds,  and  other  wretched  food 
they  live  on,  as  would  be  necessary  by  cultivating  the  soil  to 
produce  bread,  fruits,  and  meats  in  abundance.  Their  vil- 
lage consists  of  twenty-three  miserable  old  huts  or  wigwams 
built  of  straw  and  rushes.  Some  were  covered  with  raw 
hides  of  various  colors.  A few  small  patches  of  ground 
were  cultivated,  not  exceeding  altogether  a couple  of  acres. 
This  was  not  for  want  of  land,  as  there  are  many  hundred 
acres  of  good  land  around  them,  which  by  irrigation  could 
be  made  very  fertile.  From  appearances  near  the  village, 
I was  led  to  believe  that  there  had  long  been  a settlement 
here,  there  being  not  only  traces  of  former  buildings  in  every 
direction,  but  also  of  acequias  or  trenches  for  irrigating 
the  lands. 

“We  reached  Vallecita  (June  2)  eighteen  miles  from  San 
Felipe,  where  we  pitched  our  tents  among  some  willows. 
Vallecita,  as  the  name  indicates,  is  a little  valley,  surrounded 
by  lofty  and  barren  mountains.  . . A depot  of  provisions  is 
kept  at  this  place,  with  a file  of  soldiers,  for  the  supply  of 
Fort  Yuma,  and  of  government  trains  passing  and  re- 
passing. A few  horses  are  also  kept  here  to  facilitate  the 
communication  between  Fort  Yuma  and  San  Diego.  The 
distance  between  those  two  places  is  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles,  and  Vallecita  is  about  half  way.  Beyond 
it  towards  the  Colorado  there  is  little  or  no  grass.  . . A band 
of  Diegueno  Indians  live  here.  They  made  their  appearance 
early  this  morning,  dressed  in  their  holiday  clothes,  and 
appeared  more  cleanly  than  any  Indians  we  had  seen.  Nearly 
all  wore,  clean  white  or  fancy  calico  shirts,  their  only  gar- 
ment, pantaloons  being  regarded  by  all  Indians  as  useless 
articles  of  dress.  These  people  were  formerly  connected 


Mission  San  Diego  271 

with  the  Missions,  and  hence  call  themselves  Christians ; but 
they  live  in  a most  degraded  state  of  indolence  and  poverty. 
They  cultivate  beans  and  pumpkins,  and  pick  up  an 
occasional  mule,  which  serves  them  for  food,  though  their 
main  reliance  is  upon  acorns,  which  they  collect  and  store 
up  in  large  baskets  for  winter  use.  The  labor  of  preparing 
them  for  food  is,  like  almost  all  other  labor,  performed  by 
the  women,  who  were  to  be  seen  in  front  of  every  hut  wield- 
ing their  heavy  stone  pestles.  When  the  acorn  is  reduced 
to  flour,  it  is  washed  to  remove  the  bitter  taste,  and  then 
cooked  into  a kind  of  gruel  or  made  into  bread.  These 
Indians  were  very  attentive  to  us,  bringing  us  wood  (which 
is  very  scarce  here)  and  water,  and  otherwise  assisting  about 
the  camp.  They  seemed  amply  repaid  with  a few  old  clothes 
or  any  fragment  of  food  that  remained  from  our  tables.  Our 
culinary  department  was  always  the  great  point  of  attraction 
to  those  poor  creatures  who  would  often  form  a double  circle 
around  the  camp-fires,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  cook. 
The  weather  was  excessively  hot  to-day,  the  mercury  standing 
at  105  Fahrenheit  in  the  shade  under  the  bushes. 

“June  4th.  Carrizo  Creek  is  one  of  those  remarkable 
streams  which  sometimes  spring  up  in  the  desert  regions.  . . 
The  heat  here  to-day  was  insupportable,  the  mercury  ranging 
at  ,114  in  the  shade.  The  rays  of  the  sun  beat  through  our 
tents,  so  that  we  could  not  remain  in  them.  Some  retreated 
beneath  the  wagons ; while  myself  and  others  found  our  way 
into  little  gullies  or  ravines  beneath  the  clay  banks,  where, 
partly  sheltered  by  the  banks  and  partly  by  bushes,  we 
passed  the  day.  . . We  noticed  a peculiarity  in  the  water 
here,  which  was  that,  although  sweet,  it  did  not  quench 
the  thirst.  We  drank  incessantly  without  being  satisfied.”  26 

From  Bancroft  we  take  a few  more  items  of  interest.  The 
Inventory  taken  on  January  6,  1846,  by  Andres  Pico  and 
Juan  Manso,  and  signed  also  by  Fr.  Oliva,  gives  the  total 
value  of  the  mission  at  $1,654,  of  which  $1,000  is  for  the 
main  building,  the  rest  for  live  stock,  110  cattle,  65  horses. 


26  Bartlett,  Personal  Narrative,  vol.  ii,  pp.  112-128. 


272  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

and  4 mules.  The  credits  are  $19,588,  of  which  $18,816  is 
due  for  supplies  to  the  troops.  The  debts  amount  to  $1,474, 
of  which  $500,  due  to  Miguel  Pedrorena,  has  been  paid 
with  Rancho  Santa  Monica. 

On  June  8,  1846,  Governor  Pico  granted  the  deed  of 
sale  to  Santiago  Argiiello,  who  received  all  the  lands  and 
other  property  excepting  the  church  and  the  priest’s  dwelling, 
but  he  was  bound  to  support  the  priest  and  divine  worship, 
and  to  pay  the  mission  debts.  The  consideration  was  money 
due  to  Argiiello  from  the  Government  for  past  services.  On 
July  24,  seventeen  days  after  the  United  States  flag  had  been 
raised  in  California,  be  it  remembered,  Pico  ordered  Fr. 
Oliva  to  surrender  the  mission  estate  to  Argiiello.  Fr. 
Oliva  left  the  mission  on  the  coming  of  the  Americans,  and 
from  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano  complained  that  the 
commandant  had  removed  the  roofs  of  the  mission  buildings 
at  San  Diego,  which  must  have  been  reported  to  him,  as  he 
had  not  been  there  since  July,  1846.  According  to  Colonel 
Stevenson,  August  9,  1848,  some  old  Indians  still  remained, 
and  he  suggested  that  they  receive  rations  from  the  United 
States  military  post.27 

The  following  description  made  by  Lieutenant  E.  O.  C. 
Ord,  in  1849,  may  aid  in  determining  the  exact  line  of  the 
Camino  Real  from  San  Diego  to  San  Luis  Rey  Mission. 
“From  San  Diego  (Old  Town,  of  course)  I took  the  road 
northwest  up  the  coast  towards  Los  Angeles,  which  was 
passed  around  the  edge  of  False  Bay,  a shallow  arm  of  the 
sea  about  three  or  four  miles  north  of  San  Diego ; no  hills 
between  them,  though  a bluff  separates  the  two  hills  near 
the  sea.  From  the  False  Bay  the  road  leads  for  thirty 
miles  amongst  the  low  table  hills  of  the  coast,  similar  in 
formation  to  those  above  described,  and  equally  as  barren, 
though  at  intervals  of  from  four  to  ten  miles  it  crosses  little 
valleys,  which  when  watered  contain  an  adobe  hut  or  two, 
some  small  patches  of  corn,  beans,  and  pumpkins,  and  a few 
cattle.  The  valley  of  San  Dieguito,  twenty  miles  from 


27  Bancroft,  vol.  v,  pp.  619-620. 


Mission  San  Diego 


273 


San  Diego,  if  all  cultivated,  would  produce  several  thousand 
fanegas  of  maize,  and  other  things  in  proportion.  From  the 
half  dozen  patches  I saw  there,  the  Indians  were  gathering 
from  twenty  to  forty  fanegas  of  maize  to  the  acre — this 
without  irrigation.  About  thirty-six  or  forty  miles  from  San 
Diego,  in  a similar  valley  near  the  seaside,  the  road  passes 
the  now  deserted  Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey.28 


28  Executive  Document,  No.  47,  Thirty-first  Congress,  Senate,  1st 
Session,  p.  123. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Missionaries  and  Registers. — Numerous  Converts. — Various  Entries. — 
Santa  Isabel. — Fr.  Torrent  Exhausted. — Second  Book  of  Baptisms. — 
Tia  Juana. — Santa  Isabel  Again. — Yuma  Children. — White  Converts. 
— Wise  California  Girls. — Marriage  Register. — Indian  Girls. — The 
Monjerio. — Courtship. — Marriage  Entries.  — Cemetery.  — Burial  En- 
tries.— Executions.  — Second  Book  Lost. — Bancroft’s  Agent. — Fr. 
Oliva’s  Last  Entries. — Rev.  J.  C.  Holbein’s  Note. 


HE  various  Mission  Registers,  after  the  year  1800  as  well 


as  before,  contain  abundant  interesting  information. 
The  statistical  portion  of  them  will  be  found  condensed  in 
tabular  form  at  the  close  of  the  narrative. 

From  the  Baptismal  Record  we  learn  that  Fr.  Jose  Panella 
baptized  for  the  last  time  on  October  27,  1802.  He  con- 
tinued at  the  mission  to  the  end  of  the  year,  however;  for 
we  find  that  on  December  31  he  signed  the  annual  report, 
whereupon  he  retired  to  Mexico.  After  his  departure,  Fr. 
Jose  Barona  appears  to  have  been  alone  at  San  Diego  until 
December,  1803,  when  Fr.  Mariano  Payeras  came  and 
assisted  him  until  October,  1804.  On  November  7 of  that 
year,  Fr.  Jose  Bernardo  Sanchez  begins  to  enter  his  hierogly- 
phics with  number  3,152.  He  was  a most  zealous  missionary 
and  an  excellent  religious.  His  penmanship,  however,  would 
never  have  won  a premium  for  beauty  and  legibility.  Fr. 
Barona  was  succeeded  in  1810  by  Fr.  Jose  Pedro  Panto, 
who  baptized  for  the  last  time  on  June  21,  1812,  and  nine 
days  later,  on  June  30,  passed  to  his  eternal  reward.  As  the 
Tabular  Statement  will  show,  visiting  Fathers,  Franciscans 
and  Dominicans,  often  officiated  at  the  mission  by  permit  of 
the  resident  missionary.  For  instance,  on  May  18,  1809,  Fr. 
Domingo  Carranza  of  San  Luis  Rey  baptized  in  the  presidio 
chapel  Maria  Teresa  Isidora  de  la  Guerra,  infant  daughter 
of  Lieutenant  Jose  de  la  Guerra  y Noriega,  later  of  Santa 
Barbara,  and  of  Antonia  Carrillo,  his  wife.  The  child  was 
only  eight  hours  old.  The  sponsors  were  Jose  Antonio  Car- 


Mission  San  Diego 


275 


rillo  and  Tomasa  Lugo.  Reverend  Don  Jose  Maria  Afanador, 
chaplain  of  the  brigantine  San  Carlos,  baptized  onge  in  the 
presidio  chapel. 

A great  number  of  Indians  were  converted  between  the 
years  1810  and  1812.  On  August  8,  1810,  for  instance, 
Fr.  Jose  Sanchez  at  the  mission  solemnly  baptized  thirty-one 
natives.  The  entries  appear  under  numbers  3,69 2-3,723.  On 
August , 25,  1810,  Fr.  Barona  baptized  nineteen  Indians, 
numbers  3,728-3,747.  Similar  figures  occur  in  October  and 
November  of  that  year.  On  June  28,  1812,  Fr.  Panto  admin- 
istered Baptism  to  twenty-three  Indians.  Since  all  had  at- 
tained the  use  of  reason,  they  had  to  be  instructed,  which, 
of  course,  entailed  much  labor.  On  this  occasion  and 
later,  Josefa  Sal,  daughter  of  Captain  Hermenegildo  Sal,  then 
deceased,  was  sponsor  for  the  women  and  girls,  while  her 
husband,  Sergeant  Jose  Roca,  acted  in  the  same  capacity  for 
the  male  Indians. 

The  name  of  the  mission  station  Santa  Isabel  or  Elcuanan, 
occurs  for  the  first  time  in  an  entry  of  Baptism  administered 
by  Fr.  Sanchez  on  April  25,  1812.  The  sacrament  was 
administered  at  the  mission.  On  May  12,  1813,  he  baptized 
fifteen  catechumens  from  the  same  place.  San  Felipe  or 
Teguila  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time  in  an  entry  made  by 
Fr.  Sanchez  on  April  2,  1818. 

A Baptism  of  unusual  interest  took  place  on  November  7, 
1813,  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  official  visit  of  Fr.  Vicente 
Francisco  de  Sarria,  who  was  the  first  Commissary-Prefect 
of  California,  the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority  in  the 
territory.  “I  baptized/’  the  entry  reads,  “in  the  presidio 
chapel,  a child  of  five  months,  born  at  sea,  daughter  of 
George  W.  Eayry,  Anglo-American,  Protestant  (who  navi- 
gating in  his  frigate,  the  Mercurio,  along  the  coast  of 
California,  was  taken  prisoner  by  Captain  Nicolas  Noe  of  the 
frigate  Flora ) and  of  Margaret  Pegue,  native  of  the  Isle 
of  Sandwich  who  says  she  is  the  wife  of  the  same  George. 
Having  ardently  supplicated  that  Baptism  be  administered 
to  the  child  according  to  the  Catholic  rite,  and  Eayry 
having  seriously  and  repeatedly  promised  that  on  reaching 


276  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Boston  he  would  present  the  child  to  the  Spanish  consul 
that  through  his  assistance  she  might  receive-  from  a Catholic 


priest  adequate  instruction  in  the  principles  of  the  holy 
Catholic  faith,  I believed  myself  justified  in  acceding  to  said 
petition.  I gave  the  names  Maria  de  los  Remedios  Josefa 


Mission  San  Diego 


2 77 


Antonia.  The  sponsors  were  Jose  Antonio  de  la  Guerra  y 
Noriega,  Lieutenant  of  the  Cavalry  Company  of  the  Presidio 
of  Santa  Barbara,  native  of  the  Montanas  de  Santander  in 
Spain,  and  his  wife  Maria  Antonia  Carrillo,  native  of  Los 
Angeles,  Cali  forma.”  The  entry  made  by  Fr.  Sanchez  is 
number  4,070.  It  is  signed  by  Fr.  Sarria. 

Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  who  succeeded  Fr.  Barona  in  1812, 
baptized  on  May  4,  1815,  in  the  presidio  chapel,  a girl  of 
fifteen  years,  native  of  the  Isle  of  Sandwich,  who  came  here 
in  company  of  an  Anglo-American,  a Protestant.  She  re- 
ceived the  name  Maria  Antonia  de  la  Ascension.  The 
sponsors  were  Jose  de  la  Guerra  and  his  wife.  On  June 
13,  1815,  Fr.  Martin  baptized  Maria  de  las  Angustias  Josefa 
Antonia  Bernarda,  daughter  of  Jose  de  la  Guerra  and  wife. 
The  sponsors  were  the  Reverend  Fr.  Jose  de  Pineda,  O.  P., 
missionary  of  Mission  Santo  Tomas,  and  Tomasa  Lugo,  the 
widow  of  Captain  Raymundo  Carrillo.  Angustias  later 
married  Manuel  Jimeno  Casarin,  brother  of  Fathers  Joaquin 
and  Antonio  Jimeno,  who  took  a most  prominent  part  in  the 
politics  of  the  territory. 

In  1818  and  thereafter,  divine  services  were  held  at  Santa 
Isabel,  a church  having  been  erected  there.  Thenceforth, 
also  Baptisms  were  administered  there,  but  always  with 
baptismal  water  blessed  at  Mission  San  Diego,  as  the  Fathers 
are  careful  to  note.  Baptisms  in  that  district  became  quite 
numerous.  Among  them,  in  1821,  was  that  of  an  Indian 
woman  ninety  years  of  age.  It  seems  that  the  two  Fathers 
took  turns  in  going  to  Santa  Isabel.  As  there  were  no 
automobiles  in  those  days  and  the  roads  were  anything  but 
paved  or  smooth,  the  trip  must  have  been  unpleasant.  But 
the  Fathers  found  ample  compensation  in  the  rich  harvest  of 
souls  they  gathered  there. 

In  this  connection,  we  may  refer  to  a matter  regarding 
which  the  sources  of  information  say  almost  nothing.  It  is 
only  incidentally  that  allusions  occur  to  the  hardships  and 
privations  which  the  missionaries  endured  and  to  the  anxieties 
and  disappointments  that  must  have  frequently  embittered 
their  life.  The  Fathers  themselves  hardly  ever,  if  at  all, 


278  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

make  mention  of  this  subject.  Although  they  were  obliged 
to  serve  the  missions  only  ten  years,  many  remained  much 
longer.  Most  of  these  silent  and  unrequited  laborers  in  the 
service  of  unappreciative  Indians  contracted  rheumatism  and 
kindred  diseases,  owing  to  lack  of  properly  prepared  food 
and  to  damp  lodgings.  This  rendered  their  existence  doubly 
burdensome  and  incapacitated  not  a few  mentally.  A case 
in  point  was  that  of  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent,  a man  of  singular 
intellectual  attainments.  We  learn  of  his  maladies  from  a 
letter  of  Fr.  Presidente  Lasuen.  Writing  from  San  Diego 
to  Governor  Borica  under  date  of  September  28,  1797,  he 
says:  “Fr.  Hilario  Torrent  left  yesterday  for  the  presidio 

in  order  to  embark  on  the  Princesa.  He  is  half  paralyzed, 
his  memory  is  impaired,  his  mind  unsettled,  his  sight  dimmed, 
and  his  speech  obstructed.  He  weeps  and  laughs  like  a 
child.  He  is  entirely  incapacitated  for  life  in  this  ministry, 
and  there  is  no  cure  for  him  here  at  San  Diego.”  1 Such  was 
the  effect  which  twelve  years  of  missionary  exertions  among 
the  Indians  had  on  a brilliant  mind. 

By  February  21,  1822,  the  First  Book  of  Baptisms  kept  at 
Mission  San  Diego  was  filled.  The  last  entry,  number  5,270, 
was  made  on  that  day,  February  21,  by  Fr.  Vicente  Oliva, 
who  had  succeeded  Fr.  Sanchez  in  1820.  The  first  entry  in 
the  second  book  was  made  on  the  same  day  by  Fr.  Martin. 
The  title  page  of  this  Second  Book  of  Baptisms,  which  is  of 
extraordinary  size  and  of  the  cheapest  quality  of  paper,  reads 
as  follows : 

Viva  Jesus,  Maria,  Joseph 

In  the  Name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  God  the  Father, 
God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

Second  Book 

In  which  are  made  the  entries  of  the  Baptisms  of  this  Mission 
of  San  Diego,  belonging  to  the  Apostolic  College  of  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  for  Missionaries  of  the  Order  of 


1 Archb.  Arch.,  no.  113. 


Mission  San  Diego 


279 


Our  Father  Saint  Francis  of  the  Regular  Observance  of 
San  Fernando,  Mexico.  The  actual  missionaries  of  said 
mission  are  Fr.  Fernando  Martin  of  the  Province  of  St. 
Michael  the  Archangel  in  Old  Castile,  and  Fr.  Vicente 
Pasqual  Oliva  of  the  Province  of  Aragon.  The  beginning  was 
made  with  this  book  on  February  21,  1822.  The  last  entry 
in  the  First  Book  is  that  of  number  5,270. 

On  January  16,  1824,  Fr.  Oliva  baptized  at  Santa  Isabel 
eight  male  and  ten  female  adult  Indians,  two  of  whom  were 
from  Aguas  Calientes,  which  name  occurs  here  for  the 
first  time.  On  this  occasion  mention  is  made  also  of  Jacopin 
as  lying  in  the  district  of  Santa  Isabel.  The  Indians  would 
not  wait  till  the  missionary  came  to  that  station ; they  would 
bring  their  little  ones  down  to  the  mission.  Thus  Fr.  Oliva 
at  the  mission,  on  May  6,  1824,  baptized  seventeen  male 
children  from  Santa  Isabel ; and  Fr.  Martin,  on  the  next 
day,  May  7,  baptized  fourteen  female  children  from  the  same 
place;  finally,  Fr.  Caballero,  a Dominican  from  Lower 
California,  assisted  the  overburdened  Fathers  to  the  extent 
that  on  May  14,  he  baptized  eight  adult  Indians  from  Santa 
Isabel.  These  latter,  it  appears,  had  been  made  to  wait  until 
their  instruction  was  completed. 

Tia  Juana,  across  the  border,  occurs  for  the  first  time 
on  August  15,  1824.  The  person  baptized  there  on  this  day 
was  an  adult  Indian  named  Santiago,  whom  the  missionary 
found  in  a dying  condition.  The  place  belonged  to  La 
Punta.  An  old  map  of  Mexico  2 has  Tiguana,  not  Tia  Juana 
which  may  be  a corruption  of  the  former  or  perhaps  a 
joke,  Tia  Juana  meaning  Aunt  Jane. 

Fr.  Antonio  Menendez,  O.  P.,  of  Mission  San  Vicente 
Ferrer,  Lower  California,  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the 
register,  by  permit,  on  March  31,  1824.  From  about  that 
period  he  acted  as  chaplain  to  the  presidio. 

During  all  these  years  and  much  later,  the  wholesale  con- 
version of  Indians  in  the  district  of  Santa  Isabel  continued. 


2 Carta  (map)  Oro-Hidrografica  de  la  Republica  Mexicana,  por  el 
Ingeniero  Antonio  Garcia  Cubas,  2 edition,  1879. 


280  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

This  is  the  more  remarkable,  inasmuch  as  the  missionaries 
had  no  presents  to  distribute  among  them.  All  the  Indians 
came  voluntarily,  though  they  knew  that  they  could  expect 
nothing  in  the  way  of  material  gifts,  and  would  have  to 
bind  themselves  to  refrain  from  many  pleasures  which  they 
enjoyed  in  paganism  but  which  could  not  be  tolerated  under 
the  rule  of  the  Cross.  Thus  Fr.  Oliva  at  Santa  Isabel 
chapel,  on  January  28,  1825,  baptized  twenty  adult  Indians, 
numbers  5,870-5,890. 

On  October  6,  1825,  Fr.  Martin  at  Santa  Isabel  baptized 
thirteen  male  Indians,  numbers  5,955-5,967,  of  whom  eleven 
were  adults  ranging  from  twenty-two  to  seventy-six  years 
of  age.  Six  were  of  more  than  seventy  winters.  On  the 
same  day,  at  another  hour,  Fr.  Martin  baptized  eleven  female 
adults.  Three  of  these  were  between  eighty  and  eighty-eight 
years  of  age ; three  betwen  seventy  and  eighty ; and  three 
from  sixty  to  seventy.  One  was  thirty-eight,  and  another 
only  twenty-six  years  old.  On  five  other  days  to  October 
12,  Fr.  Martin,  during  this  same  visit,  admitted  eight  more, 
two  of  whom  were  children  under  nine  years  of  age.  On 
October  6,  1828,  the  happy  missionary  could  baptize  a number 
of  extraordinarily  aged  Indians,  three  men  and  three  women. 
All  save  one  were  over  sixty-eight  years  of  age,  one  Angela 
by  name  had  ninety-four  to  her  credit,  while  another,  Antonia 
by  name,  admitted  that  she  was  ninety-two  years  old.  In 
the  next  month,  on  November  4 and  5,  Fr.  Martin  regenerated 
in  the  waters  of  Baptism  four  wrinkled  Indian  women 
aged  respectively  ninety-six,  eighty-nine,  eightv-five,  and 
eighty-seven  years,  and  one  girl  of  fourteen  besides  a child. 
Truly,  Santa  Isabel  had  become  the  consolation  of  the  mis- 
sionaries at  a time  when  consolation  was  sorely  needed. 

From  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  Mexican  governor, 
Echeandia  and  his  band,  the  term  padre  no  conocido — father 
unknown  appears  frequently  in  connection  with  Baptisms 
administered  at  the  presidio  town  of  San  Diego,  which,  it 
seems,  had  become  a hotbed  of  immorality. 

Yuma  Indian  children  from  the  Colorado,  ranging  from 
five  to  ten  years  of  age,  were  often  presented  for  Baptism 


Mission  San  Diego 


281 


by  the  settlers  at  the  presidio  chapel.  How  they  came  by 
them  is  not  clear.  Perhaps,  in  the  raids  made  on  the  Yumas, 
their  parents  had  been  killed  or  made  captive.  Settlers  would 
sometimes  adopt  the  children  or  hire  them  to  take  care  of 
their  own.  For  instance,  Fr.  Oliva,  on  December  8.  1829, 
writes  that  he  had  baptized  two  girls,  five  and  six  years 
old  respectively,  whose  parents  were  Yuma  pagans  from 
the  Colorado.  It  seems  that  Estudillo  adopted  them.  Some- 
times the  candidates  were  old  enough  to  decide  for  them- 
selves. Thus  a Yuma  girl  of  twenty  summers,  the  child  of 
pagan  parents,  was  baptized  on  October  21,  1835,  and  given 
the  name  Rosalia.  Miss  Apolinaria  Lorenzana,  of  whom 
more  at  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano,  was  the  worthy  god- 
mother. Not  only  Yuma  girls,  but  also  boys  of  that  tribe 
figure  in  the  register. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  numerous  converts  from  the 
sects  found  a place  in  the  Register  of'  Baptism.  Many  of 
these  later  became  prominent  in  the  history  of  the  territory. 
All  had  to  take  a course  of  instruction,  for  no  one  could 
be  admitted  whose  good  faith  was  not  apparent ; and  the  old 
Spanish  Fathers  insisted  on  carrying  out  the  regulations  of 
the  Church  to  the  letter.  The  reader  will  not  be  displeased 
to  find  names  here  with  the  bearers  of  which  he  may  have 
become  acquainted  in  the  course  of  years. 

Here  is  a typical  entry  telling  the  mode  of  procedure  in 
similar  cases.  Fr.  Oliva  makes  this  entry:  “No.  6,099. 

On  April  27,  1827,  in  the  mission  church  of  San  Diego,  I 
reconciled  to  our  holy  Mother  the  Church  and  baptized 
conditionally  and  solemnly,  after  he  had  been  well  instructed 
in  the  dogmas  of  our  holy  Religion,  William  Agalle,  native 
of  the  city  of  Boston  in  the  United  States,  of  the  Con- 
gregationalist  sect;  and  after  he  had  abjured  all  his  errors, 
1 absolved  him  of  excommunication  by  permit  from  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Presidente,  Narciso  Duran.  His  sponsor  was 
Manuel  Dominguez,  whom  I reminded  of  his  obligations 
etc.” 

Fr.  Antonio  Menendez,  O.  P.,  the  chaplain  of  the  presidio, 
“reconciled  to  holy  Mother  Church  and  baptized,  after 


282  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


SAN  DIEGO  MISSION  FKOM  THE  SOUTHWEST— NOV.  28,  188G. 


Mission  San  Diego 


283 


adequate  instruction,  William  G.  Dana,  adult,  native  of 
Boston,  etc.”  The  Baptism  took  place  on  July  29,  1827.  This 
William  Goodwin  G.  Dana  became  prominent  in  northern 
California  as  a successful  merchant. 

Similarly,  Jonathan  Temple,  July  30,  1827,  was  reconciled 
etc.,  by  Fr.  Menendez.  The  name  Jonathan  was  changed  to 
Juan.  Temple  also  was  a native  of  Boston. 

Early  in  the  same  year,  on  April  8,  Fr.  Oliva  baptized 
conditionally  James  Farias  ( ?),  native  of  Etembara  (Edin- 
burgh), capital  of  Scotland,  of  the  Presbyterian  denomina- 
tion, son  of  Alexander  Farias  and  Mary  Donquen  (Duncan?). 
The  sponsor  was  Jose  Daniel  Rosas.  No  age  was  given. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Fathers  did  not  baptize  every 
sectarian  the  same  way.  If  it  was  proved  that  the  Prot- 
estant minister  had  employed  the  words  and  the  water 
correctly,  then  no  pouring  on  of  water  could  take  place. 
Only  some  ceremonies  were  supplied ; but  generally  no  certain 
proof  was  offered.  In  that  case  the  water  was  administered 
and  the  prescribed  formula  pronounced  conditionally.  A case 
in  point  happened  at  San  Diego.  Jose  Manuel,  infant  son  of 
Jose  Lopez,  appeared  to  be  in  the  throes  of  death.  A 
widow,  Josefa  Lopez,  accordingly  conferred  private  baptism, 
as  they  could  not  wait  till  the  missionary  arrived.  When 
Fr.  Commissary  Prefect  Vicente  de  Sarria  arrived  for  the 
visitation  on  January  1,  1826,  the  boy,  who  had  meanwhile 
recovered,  was  brought  to  the  church.  Fr.  Sarria  examined 
the  matter  closely  and  then  refused  to  baptize  the  child  even 
conditionally,  because  he  was  satisfied  that  Josefa  had  per- 
formed everything  correctly.  However,  he  supplied  the 
anointing  and  the  other  ceremonies,  which  were  duly  recorded 
in  the  Baptismal  Register  by  Fr.  Martin. 

A name  which  in  the  early  days  circulated  much  in  Cali- 
fornia was  that  of  Fitch.  According  to  entry  6,323  made  in 
the  Baptismal  Register  by  Fr.  Antonio  Menendez,  Henry 
Domingo  Fitch,  about  thirty  years  of  age,  native  of  New 
Bedford,  United  States,  son  of  Beriah  Fitch  and  his  wife 
Sarah,  natives  of  the  same  town,  was  solemnly  baptized  in 
the  presidio  chapel  on  April  14,  1829,  after  the  protestation 


284  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

of  the  Faith  and  other  requisites.  Ensign  Domingo  Carrillo 
of  Santa  Barbara  was  sponsor. 

In  September,  1835,  Fathers  Martin  and  Oliva  together 
visited  Santa  Isabel,  and  in  the  chapel  there  Fr.  Martin 
baptized  six  Indians,  the  sponsors  being  Jose  Joaquin  Ortega 
and  Casimira  Pico  his  wife.  The  reason  for  this  visit  to 
Santa  Isabel  is  not  known.  Had  it  occurred  in  the  beginning 
of  the  month,  it  would  be  very  probable  that  they  went  there 
to  celebrate  the  patronal  feast;  for  on  September  1,  the 
Church  celebrates  the  feast  of  Blessed  Isabella,  sister  of 
St.  Louis,  king  of  Spain.  Perhaps  the  civic  celebration  of 
the  annual  festival  was  for  some  reason  postponed  to  a 
later  date.  This  would  point  to  Blessed  Isabella  as  the 

Patron  Saint  of  the  mission  station. 

Fr.  Oliva  baptized  at  Santa  Isabel  for  the  last  time,  so 
far  as  is  known,  on  July  17,  1836.  After  that  the  regular 
visits  of  the  Fathers  seem  to  have  ceased,  because  in  1837 
and  1838,  Fr.  Oliva  visited  San  Luis  Rey,  which  had  no 
missionary,  while  good  Fr.  Martin  officiated  at  San  Diego. 
From  the  mission  station  as  also  from  San  Felipe  a great 
many  children  and  adults  were  in  the  course  of  time  brought 
to  the  mission  and  baptized  there. 

In  the  third  decade  of  the  century,  Yuma  children  are 
entered  quite  frequently  in  the  baptismal  register.  As  late 
as  March  26,  1838,  Fr.  Oliva  baptized  a Yuma  boy  of  five 
years,  at  the  presidio,  and  at  the  mission  a youth  of  eighteen 
and  a maiden  of  nineteen,  both  Yuma  Indians. 

Converts  from  among  the  white  immigrants  still  applied  and 
after  the  usual  preliminaries  of  instruction  and  abjuration 
they  were  admitted.  At  the  presidio,  for  instance,  Fr.  Oliva 
on  Christmas  Day,  1835,  baptized  Thomas  Rossell  (Russell?), 
a native  of  Boston,  son  of  Charles  Rossell  and  Anna  Mon- 
roe; likewise,  Thomas  Retinton  (Redington  ?),  native  of 
Boston,  son  of  John  Retinton  and  Dorotea  Debot  (David?), 
aged  thirty-two  years. 

On  April  17,  1838,  at  the  presidio  chapel,  Fr.  Oliva 
baptized  conditionally  Joseph  Julius,  native  of  Plainfield 
in  the  United  States,  Protestant,  single,  son  of  Samuel 


Mission  San  Diego  285 

Ames  and  Sarah  Ames.  The  sponsors  were  Jose  Antonio 
Estudillo  and  his  wife  Victoria  Dominguez. 

Fr.  Francisco  Sanchez,  who  had  come  that  month  with 
the  first  Bishop  of  California,  on  December  30,  1841,  baptized 
“in  the  chapel  of  the  port  of  San  Diego,”  an  Indian  child 
of  pagan  parents. 

From  November,  1841,  to  November,  1842,  Fr.  Oliva  had 
occasion  to  baptize  eight  Yuma  girls,  daughters  of  pagan 
parents.  They  ranged  from  five  to  fourteen  years.  They 
were  doubtless  children  of  slain  or  captured  Yumas,  who  in 
the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  proved  so  hostile 
•to  the  settlers  and  travelers  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment found  it  necessary,  in  1851,  to  establish  Fort  Yuma 
at  the  junction  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  Rivers,  just  opposite 
Yuma  City. 

Additional  converts  were  James  Wemes,  son  of  William 
Wemes  and  Anna  Lambon,  of  London,  England ; 

Maria  Innocencia,  of  the  port  of  Ahaju,  Sandwich  Island; 

Ricardo,  native  of  New  London,  United  States;  no  other 
name  was  entered,  but  the  parents  were  said  to  have  been 
pagans,  i.e.  not  baptized  whites; 

John  Sprague  Parker,  thirty-three  years  of  age,  son  of 
Jedediah  Parker  and  Matilda  Reynolds,  his  wife,  all 
natives  of  Boston ; 

Albert  Smith,  aged  twenty-seven,  son  of  Henry  Smith  and 
his  wife  Hetty  Marshall,  all  natives  of  New  York. 

Most  of  these  converts,  as  well  as  those  mentioned  pre- 
viously, owed  their  conversion,  it  seems,  to  their  matrimonial 
aspirations.  The  dark-eyed  Spanish  damsels  were  wise. 
They  believed  in  the  indissolubility  and  sacredness  of  mar- 
riage. Hence  they  declined  to  join  themselves  to  any  man 
in  matrimony  who  was  of  the  opinion  that  he  could  leave 
his  wife  at  will  and  take  up  with  another  woman.  In  such 
cases  the  Catholic  party  was  at  a disadvantage,  inasmuch 
as  she  could  not  again  marry  as  long  as  her  husband  lived, 
no  matter  how  many  “wives”  he  might  take  to  himself  in 
tandem  polygamy.  Therefore,  the  girls  of  California  were 
wise  enough  to  tell  their  suitors  that  they  must  be  of  the 


286  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

same  belief  with  them  on  this  and  on  all  other  points  of 
Religion,  else  there  was  no  hope  of  a matrimonial  union. 
Usually,  the  men  had  no  religious  convictions,  but  only 
some  hazy  notions  on  the  subject,  and  so  they  finally  agreed 
to  the  conditions  laid  down  by  the  girls.  These  marriages 
generally  turned  out  happy  unions  blessed  with  a numerous 
progeny.  This  naturally  introduces  the  Marriage  Register. 

As  a rule,  for  Indians  as  well  as  for  whites,  investigations 
as  to  the  antecedents  of  the  parties  and  possible  impediments 
against  their  marrying,  preceded.  Then  followed  instruc- 
tion regarding  religious  obligations,  which  might  last  for 
weeks.  Next  the  banns  were  published  on  three  successive 
Sundays  or  holy  days,  whereupon  both  parties  proceeded  to 
the  church  to  receive  the  Sacraments.  Finally,  the  marriage 
was  blessed  by  the  priest,  two  witnesses  being  present.  The 
names  of  all  concerned  including  those  of  the  parents  of 
both  as  also  the  place  of  birth  were  entered  in  a separate 
book,  called  the  Libro  de  Matrimonio  or  Marriage  Register. 

The  names  of  the  first  couple  married  at  San  Diego  are 
not  known,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  book  in  the 
conflagration  of  November,  1775;  but  Fr.  Fuster  writes  that 
by  the  end  of  that  year,  115  marriages  had  been  blessed. 

In  the  case  of  the  girls,  for  their  own  sake  and  honor, 
they  were  made  to  live  in  a house  set  apart  for  them  at  the 
mission  under  the  eyes  of  the  wife  of  the  corporal  or  of  some 
other  trusty  woman,  white  or  Indian.  During  the  day  they 
were  at  liberty  to  mingle  with  their  people  in  the  mission 
village,  but  at  night  they  had  to  retire  to  their  common 
apartment.  If  a young  Indian  brave  desired  to  make  him- 
self and  a girl  happy,  he  would  announce  his  intention  to 
the  missionary  in  charge.  It  may  be  supposed  that  he  had 
already  some  secret  understanding  with  the  girl  in  the 
monjerio  or  nunnery  as  it  was  inaptly  called.  The  mis- 
sionary may  have  observed  it,  too ; and  if  the  aspirant  was 
found  worthy  of  the  girl,  he  could  be  sure  that  the  missionary 
would  encourage  him.  He  would  ask  the  love-sick  youth 
for  the  name  of  the  dusky  damsel  whom  he  had  in  mind 
and  heart.  Thereupon,  both  would  approach  her  and  ask 


Mission  San  Diego 


287 


her  wishes  on  the  subject.  We  may  take  it  for  granted 
that  as  a rule  there  would  be  no  objection  on  her  part.  In 
that  case  the  marriage  would  take  place,  after  all  the  regula- 
tions had  been  complied  with.  Immediately  after  the  cere- 
monies, the  young  couple  were  assigned  a house,  which 
was  theirs  ever  after  and  where  they  lived  together  as  happily 
as  they  might.  In  case  the  girl  refused  the  offer,  however, 
the  young  man  would  have  to  look  for  another  on  whom  to 
pin  his  affections. 

Indian  youths  seem  to  have  known  that  girls  educated  at 
the  mission  would  also  make  good  wives.  Instead  of  looking 
for  a partner  in  the  distant  rancherias,  they  would  try  to 
interest  one  of  the  muchachas,  de  casa — girls  of  the  house  or 
mission  home.  A regular  matrimonial  fever  must  have 
broken  out  in  1813.  In  that  year,  toward  the  end  of 
December,  Fr.  Jose  Sanchez  joined  eight  Indian  couples  in 
holy  wedlock.  The  girls  were  all  muchachas  de  la  casa. 
Similarly,  in  1814  to  1815  and  later,  many  marriages  of  this 
kind  were  blessed,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

The  names  of  very  prominent  men  figure  in  the  Marriage 
Register.  It  would  be  too  tedious  to  enumerate  them  all. 
Here  is  one  entry  of  much  interest.  On  October  14,  1810, 
Fr.  Barona  joined  in  holy  matrimony  Domingo  Carrillo,  son 
of  the  deceased  Raimundo  Carrillo,  captain  of  the  San  Diego 
company,  and  of  Dona  Tomasa  Lugo,  his  wife,  natives  of 
Sinaloa,  to  Maria  Concepcion  Pico,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Maria  Pico,  sergeant  in  the  San  Diego  company,  and  of 
Eustaquia  Gutierrez,  his  wife.  Joseph  Maria  Pico  and 
Eustaquia  Gutierrez  were  the  parents  of  Pio  Pico,  the  later 
governor  of  California. 

Another  marriage  of  note  is  No.  1,770  in  the  register.  Fr. 
Fernando  Martin,  on  March  6,  1832,  all  regulations  having 
been  observed  including  the  banns,  joined  in  matrimony 
Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo,  son  of  Ignacio  Vallejo  and 
Maria  Antonia  Lugo,  natives  of  the  Port  of  Monterey,  to 
Francisca  Carrillo,  daughter  of  Joaquin  Carrillo  and  Maria 


288  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Ignacia  Lopez,  residents  of  San  Diego.  The  witnesses  were 
Juan  Bandini  and  Jose  Ortega. 

The  following  entry  also  is  of  special  interest.  On  Febru- 
ary 15,  1827,  Fr.  Oliva  joined  in  Christian  marriage 

Augustin  Vicente  Zamorano,  ensign  of  the  engineer  corps, 
native  of  San  Augustin,  Florida,  son  of  Gonzalez  Zamorano 
and  Francisca  del  Corral  his  wife,  to  Maria  Luisa  Argiiello, 
native  of  Santa  Barbara,  daughter  of  Santiago  Argiiello, 
ensign  in  the  cavalry,  and  Maria  del  Pilar  Ortega  his  wife. 
The  witnesses  were  Jose  M.  Echeandia,  governor  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  Romualdo  Pacheco,  sub-lieutenant. 

The  Death  Register  has  already  been  noted  in  the  begin- 
ning, when  the  books  were  arranged  by  Fr.  Serra.  The 
cemetery  at  all  missions  invariably  adjoined  the  church 
building,  on  one  side  or  the  other.  At  Mission  San  Diego, 
it  occupied  the  ground  to  a width  of  ten  varas  (about  thirty 
feet)  the  whole  length  of  the  church  and  vestry  on  the  left 
side  as  one  enters  the  church.  As  already  said  somewhere, 
Fr.  Lasuen  thus  described  the  location  in  his  Report  of 
May  10,  1783:  “The  Cemetery  lies  on  the  north  side  the 

whole  length  of  the  church  and  vestry,  and  is  ten  varas  wide.” 
Subsequent  church  buildings  were  erected,  but  on  the  same 
site,  so  that  the  cemetery  was  not  moved.  At  all  events, 
something  quite  unusual,  with  the  year  1805,  Fr.  Sanchez 
begins  to  employ  the  remark  in  his  entries  “in  the  cemetery 
next  to  the  church  of  the  Mission.”  Fr.  Martin  does  the 
same,  beginning  with  the  year  1813. 

The  entries  always  state,  as  is  prescribed,  whether  the  de- 
ceased had  received  the  Sacraments  of  Penance,  Holy 
Eucharist,  and  Extreme  Unction,  or,  if  not  all,  which  of 
them. 

Important  lessons  could  be  drawn  and  long  stories  told 
from  the  Register  of  the  Dead.  But  that  is  foreign  to  our 
purpose,  which  is  only  to  furnish  every  obtainable  informa- 
tion regarding  the  Mission  and  the  persons  connected  with 
it.  A few  notes  will  not  be  amiss,  however,  as  they  contain 
much  that  is  of  interest  and  that  throws  light  on  the  situation. 
Fr.  Juan  Mariner,  on  January  9,  1792,  gave  ecclesiastical 


Mission  San  Diego 


289 


burial  to  Maria  Francisca,  a neophyte,  who  had  been  mar- 
ried to  Felix  Macoon,  likewise  a neophyte  of  the  mission. 
While  alone  and  asleep,  her  house  took  fire  which  when 
detected  had  advanced  so  far  that  it  was  impossible  to  save 
the  poor  creature. 

Fr.  Fernando  Martin,  on  January  28,  1814,  gave  ecclesias- 
tical burial  to  the  body  of  Tiburcio  Cuilp,  widower  of 
Juliana,  deceased.  He  had  been  executed  that  very  day 
at  nine  o’clock,  having  been  assisted  in  death  as  our  Mother 
the  Church  demands  and  having  received  the  holy  Sacra- 
ments of  Penance  and  Holy  Eucharist.  Many  Indians  from 
this  and  the  neighboring  missions  attended  the  execution, 
likewise  many  white  people.”  The  crime  for  which  the 
unhappy  man  was  put  to  death  is  not  stated  in  the  entry. 

With  this  year,  1814,  the  burials  of  white  people  begin 
to  be  entered  separately.  From  the  beginning  of  the  presidio 
to  the  end  of  that  year,  seventy-nine  burials  took  place. 
This  does  not  include  those  who  had  died  of  the  scurvy 
between  the  years  1769  and  1770. 

On  October  30,  1824,  an  execution  took  place  at  eleven 
o’clock,  a.  m.  The  body  of  the  victim,  Juan  Bautista  Guay- 
cupuchul,  was  given  ecclesiastical  burial  by  Fr.  Oliva  at  the 
presidio,  many  Indians  of  the  mission  and  a crowd  of  white 
settlers  being  present. 

On  April  6,  1826,  Fr.  Martin  buried  five  soldiers  who 
had  been  killed  by  the  Colorado  River  Indians ; and  on 
April  23,  Vicente  Mayalpalp,  married,  was  executed  for 
having  been  implicated  in  the  murder. 

“I  was  informed,”  writes  Fr.  Martin  in  entry  No.  4,030, 
June  20,  1829,  “that  a woman  called  Calista  Gaesepall,  mar- 
ried to  Calisto  Cuachelac  of  Santa  Isabel,  had  died.  The 
body  is  not  interred  in  consecrated  ground  because  she 
went  away  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Missionary  Fathers ; 
and  when  advised  of  her  death,  after  three  days,  the  pagans 
of  her  rancheria  had  already  buried  her ; but  they  placed 
a cross  on  the  grave  in  order  to  indicate  the  spot  in  case 
the  body  was  to  be  removed  for  ecclesiastical  burial.” 

The  last  entry  in  the  First  Book  of  Burials  was  number 


290  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

4,156,  under  date  of  June  14,  1831,  Fr.  Martin  officiating. 
“The  second  book,”  says  Savage,  Bancroft’s  agent,  “is  not  in 
the  parish  church,  and  must  be  lost.  Father  Ubach  showed 
me  another  record  book  of  the  parish  (small  quarto  copy 
book  form  in  boards)  which  had  been  missing  some  time,  and 
which  he  found  in  possession  of  some  children  playing  with 
it  in  the  street.  North  San  Diego,  January  19th,  1878. 
Thomas  Savage.”  This  was  probably  the  date  when  Savage 
closed  his  work  of  transcribing,  in  the  service  of  Bancroft. 
The  writer  went  through  the  same  task  twenty-six  years 
later  and  found  the  situation  the  same.  Hence  we  do  not 
find  the  entry  for  Fr.  Fernando  Martin’s  death  and  burial, 
since  he  passed  away  at  the  mission  on  October  19,  1838. 
His  remains  were  doubtless  buried  within  the  church  walls 
of  the  mission. 

The  little  book  mentioned  by  Savage  was  arranged  for 
entries  of  burials  by  the  Rev.  J.  Chrisostom  Holbein,  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary, 
Missionary  Apostolic,  on  November  9,  1849,  He  used  also  a 
similar  little  book  for  the  Baptisms.  The  first  Baptism 
entered  here  is  dated  July  24,  1849.  Rev.  Jayme  Vila  began 
the  Third  Book  of  Baptisms  in  folio  form  on  October  26, 
1856. 

The  Marriage  Register  ran  till  long  after  the  mission 
period.  Fr.  Oliva’s  last  entry  in  this  book  is  dated  April  30, 
1846.  The  recipients  of  the  Sacrament  were  three  Indian 
couples,  under  numbers  2,049,  2,050,  and  2,051.  They 
were  married  at  the  mission  church. 

The  following  note  is  found  in  the  small  register  begun 
by  Father  Holbein:  ’“On  December  28,  1853,  I took  the 
remains  of  the  three  Franciscan  missionaries,  whose  names 
are  not  known  with  certainty,  buried  in  the  presbytery  of 
the  church  of  the  Mission  of  San  Diego,  converted  into 
a military  barracks  for  the  American  soldiers.  I placed 
the  bones  of  the  said  Fathers  in  one  and  the  same  chest  and 
gave  ecclesiastical  burial  on  the  same  day  in  the  cemetery 
of  the  said  mission.  In  witness  whereof  I signed  this  on  the 
same  day,  month,  and  year. — J.  Chris.  Holbein,  Mis.  Ap.” 


M ission  San  Diego 


291 


The  remains  in  question  were  doubtless  those  of  Fathers 
Lazaro,  Panto,  and  Martin;  for  the  remains  of  Fathers 
Jaume,  Figuer,  and  Mariner  had  already  been  placed  in 
a single  tomb  in  the  church,  though  in  separate  coffins, 
not  in  the  sanctuary  but  between  the  main  altar  and  the 
side  altar. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Smythe ’s  Honest  Admission. — Major  McLaughlin ’s  Statement. — Meehan 
ical  Arts  at  the  Mission. — Diversions. — Singing. — Music. — Agricul- 
ture.— Table. — The  Dam. — The  Aqueduct. — Live  Stock. — Exaggera- 
tions.— Table. — Spiritual  Results. — Table. — Bartlett ’s  Description  of 
Mission. — United  States  Troops  Quartered  at  Mission. — Soledad. — 
San  Pasqual. — Ford’s  Description. — Restoration  Plans. — The  Mission 
Bells. — What  of  the  Neophytes'? — The  Missionaries. — Their  Aims 
and  Vicissitudes. — End. 

( it AV r HAT  shall  be  said  of  the  missionary  achievements?” 
W Smythe  asks ; and  forthwith  he  essays  to  answer  the 
question  and  in  so  doing  forgets  all  his  prejudices,  thinks 
logically,  and  is,  therefore,  at  his  best.  “For  the  most  part,” 
he  writes,  “the  answer  to  this  question  depends  upon  the 
individual  point  of  view.  No  mere  material  conquest  is  to 
be  compared  with  the  salvation  of  immortal  souls.  The 
Mission  Fathers  brought  thousands  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
and  persuaded  them  to  live  in  accordance  with  religious  ways. 
Those  who  believe  that  these  thousands  of  souls  would 
otherwise  have  been  lost  justly  place  the  missionary  achieve- 
ment above  the  most  enduring  things  done  by  the  soldier, 
the  law-giver,  or  the  founder  of  institutions.  Those  who 
accept  distinctly  modem  views  of  religion  may  hold  more 
lightly  the  purely  spiritual  conquest  accomplished  by  Junipero 
Serra  and  his  fellow  priests,  yet  even  such  must  credit 
them  with  the  noblest  aspirations  and  must  concede  that 
the  Indian  population  gained  much  in  simple  morality  from 
the  missionary  teachings.  Nor  has  this  gain  been  wholly 
lost,  even  after  Father  Serra  has  slept  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  in  his  grave  at  Monterey.  The 
Indian  was  unquestionably  elevated  by  his  spiritual  experience 
and  by  his  manual  training,  and,  dubious  as  his  condition 
seems  to-day,  is  still  a better  man  because  the  Mission  once 
flourished  under  the  sunny  skies  of  San  Diego.”  1 


i Smythe,  History  of  San  Diego,  pp.  73-75. 


Mission  San  Diego 


293 


This  fair  conclusion  of  Smythe  is  borne  out  by  Major 
James  McLaughlin,  for  many  years  United  States  Indian 
Agent  in  Dakota  and  later  for  a score  of  years  United  States 
Indian  Inspector.  One  would  suppose  him  to  be  partial 
to  Indians  elsewhere ; but  here  is  what  he  says,  and  from 
a personal  talk  with  him  the  writer  knows  that  he  had  in 
mind  especially  the . Indians  of  the  Mesa  Grande  region  in 
San  Diego  County,  who  are  descendants  of  the  neophytes 
of  Mission  San  Diego.  “It  is  an  odd  condition  that  the 
Pacific  States  Indians,  who  were  by  no  means  the  equals 
of  the  plains  Indians  physically  and  mentally  in  their  native 
state,  have  progressed  beyond  their  better-developed  brethren 
in  the  civilized  arts.  . . They  are  farther  advanced  than  the 
Indians  of  whom  much  more  might  have  been  expected. 
Many  of  them,  though  only  a couple  of  generations  re- 
moved from  a people  living  on  roots  and  fish,  to  whom  even 
reptiles  were  not  unfamiliar  articles  of  diet,  have  acquired 
all  the  better  habits  of  the  whites,  and  the  social  condition  is 
not  unfrequently  rather  better  than  that  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  live  and  who  boast  European  blood.”  2 

Mechanical  arts  could  not  be  so  extensively  practiced  at 
Mission  San  Diego  as  at  the  other  mission  establishments. 
The  reason  is  because  the  neophytes,  if  we  except  the  girls, 
the  invalids,  and  the  aged,  continued  to  live  in  their  ranch- 
erias,  and  by  turns  stayed  for  only  two  weeks  at  the  mission. 
Nevertheless,  at  the  mission  enough  cloth  was  woven  and 
enough  clothing  manufactured  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  the 
neophytes.  In  addition,  after  the  year  1811,  the  Indians 
here  had  to  help  clo+he  and  feed  the  soldiers  and  their 
families.  Since  the  Mexican  Government  demanded  no 
reports  on  what  the  mission  shops  produced,  it  is  impossible 
even  to  estimate  the  value  and  the  nature  of  the  produc- 
tions of  this  particular  mission.  It  is  enough  to  state, 
however,  t^at  everything  used  and  consumed  by  the  Indians 
and  the  missionaries  was  manufactured  or  raised  by  them 


2 McLaughlin,  My  Friend,  the  Indian,  pp.  312-313. 


MATERIAL  RESULTS  OF  MISSION  SAN  DIEGO— AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTS 


;94  M issions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


M ission  San  Diego  295 


Note.  A fanega  is  equal  to  100  lbs. 

Plant,  means  famSgas  planted  or  sown. 
Harv.  means  fanegas  harvested. 


296  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


under  the  supervision  of  the  Fathers.  Hence  there  were 
masons,  brick  and  tile  makers,  bricklayers,  adobe  makers, 
carpenters,  blacksmiths,  saddlers  and  harness  makers,  spin- 
ners, weavers,  tailors,  hatters,  shoemakers,  butchers,  tallow 
melters,  soap  makers,  tanners,  candle  makers,  cooks,  and  so 
on.  The  women  ground  the  corn  or  wheat  into  flour  after 
the  fashion  of  the  times  when  mills  not  yet  existed,  and  they 
were  engaged  also  at  other  work  suitable  to  their  sex.  For 
details  on  this  point  and  on  the  entire  mission  routine,  which 
was  uniform  at  all  the  missions,  we  must  refer  the  reader  to 
the  second  volume  of  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  Calif orni-a 
(pp.  246-266). 

It  was  not,  of  course,  all  work  nor  all  prayer  that  prevailed 
at  the  missions ; otherwise,  few  converts  would  have  been 
made  and  less  retained.  At  given  times,  diversions  of  every 
kind  were  indulged  in,  which  the  reader  will  find  minutely 
described  in  the  afore-mentioned  volume  (pp.  248-256; 
564-567).  Singing  especially  was  diligently  cultivated  by 
both  sexes,  though  only  male  Indians,  trained  from  boyhood, 
were  permitted  to  sing  the  liturgical  parts  of  divine  services.3 
Apart  from  this,  however,  all  were  at  liberty  to  sing  the  Latin 
and  Spanish  hymns  either  in  or  outside  the  church.4 

Agricultural  products  had  to  be  reported  annually.5  Of 
this  department  of  mission  activity,  therefore,  we  have  full 
and  detailed  accounts  down  to  the  year  1832  inclusive.  The 
Franciscans  established  their  missions  in  order  to  transform 
indolent  savages  into  self-supporting  and  law-abiding  sub- 
jects of  the  State.  How  to  maintain  themselves  was,  there- 
fore, next  to  religious  knowledge,  the  chief  practical  educa- 
tion the  Indians  had  to  acquire,  and  this  the  missionaries 
who  were  men  of  common  sense  imparted  gently  but  firmly. 
Book-learning  would  have  been  of  no  use  whatever  to  the 
neophytes,  had  they  not  first  learned  the  lessons  of  industry. 


3 See  specimen  of  Latin  Church  music  in  Missions  and  Missionaries, 
vol.  ii,  p.  257. 

4 See  accompanying  specimen  of  a children’s  hymn. 

5 See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  iii  for  facsimile. 


Mission  San  Diego 


297 


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Agriculture  was  accordingly  the  chief  department  of 
mission  activity  as  far  as  material  matters  were  concerned. 
It  was  indeed  beset  with  many  difficulties.  The  missionaries 
coming  generally  from  cultured  families  were  men  of  learn- 
ing and  discipline,  whose  prime  duty  it  was  to  meditate  on 


298  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


the  Gospel  and  to  convey  its  principles  and  obligations  to 
the  people.  Yet  here  in  California  they  were  among  a 
nation  whose  stomachs  had  to  be  filled  before  mind  and  heart 
would  hearken  to  the  truths  of  Christianity.  The  land  had  to 
furnish  the  food;  wherefore  the  Indians  had  to  learn  how  to 
plant  and  raise  what  would  satisfy  their  ever  clamoring 
hunger.  Heretofore  the  natives  had  raised  absolutely  noth- 
ing. Hence  the  missionaries  were  constrained  to  teach  farm- 
ing as  a necessary  preliminary  for  the  acceptance  of  the 
Gospel.  And  for  the  love  of  God  they  bowed  to  necessity 
and  became  farmers.  Frequently,  although  the  will  was 
there,  the  way  w’as  not  so  easy.  Various  obstacles  had  to 
be  encountered  and  surmounted.  In  a primitive  country, 
in  primitive  times,  “the  methods  and  implements/’  as 
Smythe  notes,  “were  crude.  The  plows  were  made  of  the 
fork  of  a tree  shod  with  a flat  piece  of  iron.  Grain  was 
cut  with  a short  sickle,  and  horses  threshed  it  with  their 
hoofs.” 6 Climatic  conditions  and  the  possibilities  of  the 
soil  had  to  be  studied.  Only  experience  could  teach  the 
proper  method  of  procedure.  There  was  little  good  soil  near 
the  mission.  In  spots  among  the  mountains  better  land  was 
discovered ; but  as  rain  was  not  frequent,  the  crops  would  not 
mature ; while,  if  the  seed  was  sown  in  the  lowland,  floods 
often  carried  av^ay  everything.  Then  a general  drought 
would  set  in,  and  the  Indians  had  to  be  permitted  to  go  out 
as  of  yore  on  a hunt  for  acorns  or  game.  Truly,  the 
Fathers  had  a hard  time  of  it,  dependent  on  fickle  weather, 
fickle  Indians,  and  fickle  crops.  But  they  persisted,  and 
in  the  end  their  labors  were  crowned  with  remarkable  suc- 
cess. 

As  seasonable  rainfall  could  not  be  depended  upon  and  as 
the  river  running  by  the  mission  was  most  of  the  time 
without  water,  the  Fathers  constructed  a dam  of  solid  stone 
and  thirteen  feet  thick  across  the  Rio  San  Diego,  about  three 
or  more  miles  above  the  mission.  This  dam  was  coated  with 
cement  that  became  as  hard  as  stone.  In  the  center  was  a 


C Smythe,  History  of  San  Diego,  p.  100. 


Mission  San  Diego 


299 


MATERIAL  RESULTS  AT  MISSION  SAN  DIEGO— LIVE  STOCK. 


Year 

Cattle 

Sheep 

Goats 

Pigs 

Horses 

Mules 

Total 

1773 

40 

74 

55 

19 

29 

28 

245 

1774 

1775 

1776 

54 

104 

61 

27 

35 

25 

306 

102 

204 

100 

14 

54 

24 

498 

1777 

138 

244 

156 

14 

94 

19 

665 

1778 

1779 

1780 

1781 

1782 

1783 

250 

630 

300 

26 

135 

26 

1367 

415 

300 

000 

000 

269 

15 

999 

1784 

500 

1100 

558 

000 

265 

39 

2462 

1785 

558 

727 

316 

000 

262 

35 

1898 

1786 

605 

936 

315 

000 

278 

34 

2168 

1787 

708 

986 

378 

000 

284 

32 

2388 

1788 

1003 

1000 

634 

000 

339 

29 

3005 

1789 

1790 

805 

805 

1306 

1583 

517 

16 

437 

33 

3892 

1791 

2603 

2136 

763 

19 

494 

38 

6053 

1792 

2503 

2426 

647 

24 

568 

41 

6209 

1793 

3325 

3114 

458 

18 

592 

43 

7550 

1794 

3516 

2600 

380 

20 

662 

31 

7209 

1795 

3618 

2390 

403 

32 

761 

51 

7255 

1796 

3220 

2713 

203 

24 

544 

37 

6741 

1797 

5000 

4020 

000 

30 

693 

69 

9812 

1798 

5160 

4873 

000 

26 

859 

80 

10998 

1799 

5836 

5080 

000 

23 

790 

92 

11821 

1800 

6000 

6000 

000 

28 

877 

100 

13005 

1801 

6050 

6020 

21 

7 

850 

60 

13008 

1802 

6050 

6000 

000 

20 

900 

66 

13036 

1803 

5000 

5000 

000 

15 

830 

45 

10890 

1804 

4387 

5408 

000 

20 

784 

52 

10651 

1805 

1806 

4458 

5640 

000 

18 

819 

63 

10998 

1807 

4538 

6760 

000 

16 

640 

74 

12028 

1808 

4362 

9260 

000 

18 

700 

91 

14431 

1809 

3000 

8740 

000 

8 

478 

84 

12310 

1810 

30C0 

9625  . 

100 

15 

620 

100 

13460  , 

1811 

29C0 

9132 

140 

12 

312 

94 

12590 

1812 

3118 

9344 

200 

15 

352 

106 

13145 

1813 

3210 

9260 

170 

16 

350 

88 

13174 

1814 

3560 

9668 

212 

50 

450 

78 

14018 

1815 

4234 

10400 

320 

120 

517 

84 

15675 

1816 

3700 

10200 

250 

100 

561 

89 

14900 

1817 

4816 

12570 

325 

36 

760 

88 

18595 

1818 

6224 

14674 

364 

72 

850 

112 

22296 

1819 

7111 

16711 

430 

86 

830 

150 

25318 

1820 

8120 

14512 

320 

76 

870 

172 

24070 

1821 

8436 

17000 

500 

86 

1060 

234 

27316 

1822 

9245 

19000 

400 

65 

1174 

295 

30179 

1823 

8120 

18024 

200 

52 

969 

275 

27640 

1824 

8536 

19000 

235 

40 

845 

330 

28986 

1825 

8120 

19420 

184 

000 

565 

115 

28404 

1826 

8620 

18620 

262 

54 

830 

122 

28508 

1827 

9120 

16284 

234 

72 

987 

136 

26833 

1828 

8136 

16566 

320 

000 

1063 

154 

26239 

1829 

8200 

15120 

258 

000 

917 

130 

24625 

1830 

7630 

16120 

320 

000 

1050 

142 

25262 

1831 

6220 

17624 

325 

000 

1196 

132 

25497 

1832 

4500 

13250 

150 

000 

220 

80 

18200 

1833 

1834 

3120 

8132 

84 

000 

213 

000 

11549 

1842 

20 

200 

000 

000 

100 

000 

320 

300  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


SPIRITUAL  RESULTS  AT  MISSION  SAN  DIEGO 


Year 

Baptisms 

j Marriages 

Deaths 

Confessions 

Communions 

Confirmations 

Viaticum 

1 

Neophytes 

Total  Number  of 
Neophytes  at  Mission 

Indian 

White 

J Indian 

White 

Indian 

White 

Male 

Female 

1771 

16 

1772 

53 

1773 

89 

12 

1774 

116 

19 

19 

97 

1775 

431 

115 

1776 

461 

121 

21 

1777 

591 

154 

34 

1778 

679 

168 

47 

610 

1779 

758 

198 

102 

1780 

818 

205 

132 

1781 

834 

217 

153 

1782 

946 

230 

193 

1783 

996 

247 

234 

233 

740 

1784 

1075 

264 

266 

786 

1785 

1174 

287 

307 

838 

1786 

1229 

294 

339 

890 

1787 

1305 

308 

394 

914 

1788 

1354 

317 

434 

923 

1789 

1409 

323 

472 

940 

1790 

1452 

335 

522 

933 

1791 

1511 

350 

557 

321 

833 

1792 

1562 

365 

620 

862 

1793 

1625 

385 

669 

102 

869 

1794 

1692 

393 

712 

58 

879 

1795 

1746 

402 

757 

887 

1796 

1855 

417 

840 

412 

496 

908 

1797 

2422 

444 

904 

1405 

1798 

2615 

458 

976 

719 

807 

1526 

1799 

2704 

602 

1048 

663 

742 

1405 

1800 

2772 

4 

634 

14 

1150 

7 

717 

794 

1511 

1801 

2859 

668 

1168 

1538 

1802 

2953 

19 

699 

20 

1243 

11 

737 

822 

1559 

1803 

3029 

731 

1303 

1587 

1804 

3167 

37 

772 

25 

1423 

22 

786 

803 

1589 

1805 

3255 

806 

47 

1508 

53 

1806 

3319 

858 

52 

1675 

88 

745 

741 

1486 

1807 

3438 

50 

896 

55 

1752 

91 

1511 

1808 

3590 

55 

930 

57 

1826 

100  j 

266 

48 

805 

781 

1586 

1809 

3650 

960 

59 1 

1901 

550 

68 

1560 

1810 

3795 

85 

1014 

62 1 

1979 

108 

463 

57 

840 

771. 

1611 

1811 

3870 

94 

1032 

2080 

1 15  ■ 

282 

86 

826 

7571 

1583 

1812 

4018 

116 

1060 

65 

2192 

127 

304 

lOOj 

846 

770 

1616 

1813 

4083 

132 

1098 

j 

2315 

132 

320 

150' 

810 

727 

1537 

1814 

4161 

147 

1131 

66 

2449 

140  i 

420! 

167 

2 

724 

704 

1428 

1815 

4249 

165 

1 154 

67 

2565 

143! 

535 1 

272 



0 

706 

680 

1386 

1816 

4337 

175 

1184 

71 

2677 

1491 

554 

229 

0 

697 

660 

1357 

1817 

4532 

190 

1243 

75! 

2786 

151 ! 

579 

216 

9 

748 

682 

1430 

1818 

4749 

205 

1296 

76 

2S60 

720 1 

180 

12 

803 

755 

1558 

1819 

4887 

215 

1332 

2924 

154 

750 

150 

4 

830 

595 1 

1425 

1820 

5129 

230 

1382 



3018 

164 

753 

171 

832 

735 

1567 

1821 

5260 

241 

1413 

84 

3090 1 

171 

672 

119 

2 

901 

721 

1622 

1822 

5452 

284 

14601 

87 

3196 

176 

820 

140 

2 

948 

749 

1697 

1823 

5659 

302 

1517 

89 

3329 

181! 

649 

150 

2 

978 

780 

1758 

1824 

5860 

309 

1558 

91 

3441 

667 

2)0 

1 

1027 

802 

1829 

1825 

5993 

325 

1607 

94 

3627 

i88 

530 

257 

2 

944 

784 

1728 

1826 

6078 

342 

1626 

99 

3706 

200! 

277 

161 

2 

955 

749 

1704 

1827 

6158 

361 

1647 

102 

3854 

220 

462 

241 

2 

860 

770 

1630 

1828 

6243 

381 

1685 

103 

3965 

227 

456 

332 

0 

910 

666 

1576 

1829 

6323 

401 

1717 

113 

4051 

234 

0 

865 

689 

1554 

1830 

6396 

421 

1752 

116 

41231 

243 



116 

64 

0 

917 

627 

1544 

1831 

6461 

449 

1767 

H9| 

4210 

255 

116 

58 

1 

894 

612 

1506 

Mission  San  Diego 


301 


SPIRITUAL  RESULTS  AT  MISSION  SAN  DIEGO— (Continued). 


Year 

Baptisms 

Marriages 

Deaths 

Confessions 

Communions 

Confirmations 

Viaticum 

Neophytes 

Total  Number  of 
Neophytes  at  Mission 

e! 

o3 

'B 

a 

<D 

a 

* 

a 

'S 

c 

<D 

'J3 

£ 

cl 

•B 

'r£ 

£ 

JD 

13 

13 

s 

r® 

1832 

1833 

1834 

1835 

1836 

1837 

1838 

1839 

1840 

1841 

1842 

1843 

1844 

1845 

1846 

6522 

6578 

6638 

6709 

6759 

6866 

6906 

6940 

6970 

6991 

7016 

7046 

7076 

7104 

7126 

466 

694 

714 

732 

1794 

1837 

1880 

1903 

1929 

1959 

1970 

1986 

2000 

2011 

2016 

2028 

2040 

2044 

2051 

126 

127 

134 

4322 

279 

86 

54 

55 

302 

0 

862 

593 

1455 

4497 

1382 

124 

Note. — The  General  Reports  of  the  Mission  Fathers  included  the 
Baptisms,  Marriages,  Burials,  and  Confirmations  of  white  people.  We 
have  placed  the  whites  in  separate  columns,  but  they  must  be  deducted 
from  the  numbers  in  the  Indian  columns  to  obtain  the  exact  number 
of  Indian  entries. 

gateway  twelve  feet  high  and  lined  with  brick.  The  structure 
was  still  standing  in  1904,  when  the  writer  examined  it. 
“From  this  dam,”  Bancroft  says,  “an  aqueduct  constructed  of 
tiles,  resting  on  cobblestones  in  cement,  and  carrying  a stream 
one  foot  deep  and  two  feet  wide  to  the  mission  lands,  was 
built  through  a precipitous  gorge,  impassable  on  horseback. 
The  aqueduct  often  crossed  gulches  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  wide  and  deep,  and  was  so  strong  that  in  places  it 
supported  itself  after  the  foundations  were  removed.”  7 By 
dint  of  such  herculean  efforts  and  patience  the  missionaries 
succeeded  in  feeding  their  dusky  charges  as  well  as  the  live 
stock  which  afforded  fleshmeat  for  food,  tallow  for  candles 
and  soap,  and  hides  for  occasional  export,  which  in  turn 
supplied  what  the  mission  could  not  produce,  such  as  choco- 
late, sugar,  church  goods,  implements,  and  ironware.  The 
accompanying  table  tells  the  story  in  detail.  It  will,  no 


7 Bancroft,  History,  vol.  ii,  p.  106. 


302  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


doubt,  prove  of  interest  to  the  farmer,  while  it  at  the  same 
time  relieves  the  writer  of  the  necessity  of  explaining. 

Live  stock  was  the  other  chief  department  of  mission 
industry.  A great  many  Indians  had  to  be  engaged  to  care 
for  the  animals  belonging  to  the  mission,  because  the  pastures 
were  at  a distance  and  in  widely  separate  valleys.  Also 
the  flocks  had  to  be  guarded  against  wild  beasts  that  not 
unfrequently  played  havoc  with  the  cattle  and  especially  with 
the  sheep.  Other  enemies  were  the  savages  who  roved  in 
the  regions  east  of  the  mission,  notably  the  Yumas,  and 
who  were  often  aided  by  deserters  from  the  mission.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  after  the  coming  of  Echeandia, 
who  imbued  the  natives  with  foolish  ideas  of  liberty  and  en- 
couraged them  to  free  themselves  from  the  rule  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. Thus  cattle  and  horses  were  driven  away  in 
large  numbers  and  slaughtered  for  food.  As  long  as  the 
Fathers  were  in  control,  to  the  year  1834,  the  herds  and 
flocks  were  kept  together  fairly  well ; but  when  the  missions 
had  to  be  turned  over  to  secular  administrators,  it  required 
only  a short  time  to  reduce  the  thousands  of  animals  to  a 
few  hundred  and  finally  to  a few  dozen.  But  that  sad  story 
has  already  been  told.  The  accompanying  table  compiled  from 
the  official  reports  explains  itself  and  at  the  same  time  sets 
aright  some  preposterous  figures  adduced  by  modern  writers 
on  California  history.  For  instance,  Henry  Chapman  Ford, 
a very  well-meaning  artist  and  writer,  says  in  the  description 
of  his  etchings,  “The  wealth  accumulated  by  the  Missions 
was  enormous,  and,  at  the  height  of  their  prosperity,  their 
annual  income  was  $3,000,000.  The  cattle  at  this  period 
numbered  1,200,000.”  How  many  of  these  Ford  credits  to 
Mission  San  Diego  does  not  appear.  Fie  doubtless  figured 
that  the  cattle  were  sold  at  $3.00  per  head,  and  so  arrived  at 
the  preposterous  figure  $3,000,000.  The  fact  is,  however,  that 
his  estimate  of  the  number  of  cattle  is  much  too  high.  He 
would  have  been  closer  to  the  truth  if  he  had  canceled  the 
one  million  and  then  deducted  20,000  from  the  remaining 
200,000.  For,  as  the  table  shows,  the  missions  together,  in 
no  year,  possessed  more  than  180,000  head  in  round  numbers ; 


Mission  San  Diego 


303 


neither  was  there  a regular  sale  for  them  at  even  $2.00  a 
head.  What  might  have  been  profit  after  1820  and  even 
earlier  had  mostly  to  be  sacrificed  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
soldiers  and  their  families.  But  that  story  also  has  been 
told. 

The  chief  aim  of  the  missionaries  and  the  principal  object 
of  the  mission  was  not  filling  barns  and  increasing  live 
stock.  The  Fathers  had  come  to  gather  into  the  fold  of 
Christ  immortal  souls,  as  Smythe  correctly  indicates.  Every- 
thing else  was  but  of  secondary  importance,  and  indeed  of 
no  importance  at  all  to  the  Franciscan  friars,  save  as  a 
means  to  their  chief  aim,  the  salvation  of  souls.  Notwith- 
standing so  many  adverse  circumstances,  in  this  they  were 
successful.  All  the  natives  from  the  coast  to  the  sierras 
around  Santa  Isabel  were  eventually  won  for  Christ,  and 
of  all  the  Indians  still  living  in  San  Diego  County,  those  who 
survived  the  eviction  from  the  mission  and  its  stations  through 
the  greed  of  unscrupulous  fortune  hunters,  have  generally 
speaking  themselves  or  their  descendants  remained  not  only 
the  most  numerous  but  also  the  most  religious  and  moral. 
The  accompanying  table  will  show  for  each  year  with  what 
success  the  Fathers  labored. 

With  regard  to  the  mission  buildings,  the  accompanying 
ground  plan  will  enlighten  the  reader  as  to  their  extent. 
Writing  in  May,  1852,  John  Russell  Bartlett  thus  describes 
them  as  they  appeared  at  his  time : “The  buildings,  which 

are  of  adobe,  are  not  extensive,  but  are  in  good  preserva- 
tion. They  possess  more  of  an  Oriental  appearance  than 
any  other  establishment.  There  was  formerly  a large  vine- 
yard and  orchard,  containing  figs,  peaches,  etc.,  a portion 
of  which  is  still  in  existence.  The  place  is  celebrated  also 
for  a flourishing  orchard  of  olive  tress,  which  still  remains, 
yielding  a great  abundance  of  olives,  the  excellence  of  which 
we  have  an  opportunity  of  tasting  on  our  homeward  journey. 
The  mission  is  at  present  occupied  by  United  States  troops, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  J.  B.  Magruder,  and  in 
consequence  is  kept  in  good  repair.”  8 


s Bartlett,  Personal  Narrative,  vol.  ii,  p.  104. 


THE  MISSION  CHUECH  OCCUPIED  BY  U.  S.  TEOOPS. 


Mission  San  Diego 


3°5 


From  the  official  reports  of  the  U.  S.  War  Department 
we  learn  that  Mission  San  Diego  in  November,  1853,  was 
occupied  by  two  companies  of  artillery  composed  of  one 
captain  (H.  S.  Burton),  one  assistant  surgeon,  one  first 
lieutenant,  and  fifty-five  enlisted  men. 

In  November,  1855,  one  company  of  artillery  was  quar- 
tered there.  It  consisted  of  one  captain  (H.  S.  Burton), 
one  assistant  surgeon,  one  first  lieutenant,  one  second  lieu- 
tenant, and  sixty-nine  men. 

On  November  28,  1857,  the  report  has  one  company  of 
artillery  and  one  company  of  cavalry,  composed  of  Major  G. 
A.  H.  Blake,  one  surgeon,  one  captain,  two  first  and  two 
second  lieutenants,  and  108  men. 

The  report  for  1858-1859  could  not  be  secured.  It  is  most 
probable  that  the  troops  were  withdrawn  in  1858  or  early  in 
1859.  The  report  of  November  28,  1860,  makes  no  mention 
of  troops  at  Mission  San  Diego.  On  October  17,  1861, 
Lieutenant  F.  H.  Bates  is  reported  as  stationed  at  Nezv  San 
Diego  with  a company  of  the  Fourth  Infantry.  Doubtless  it 
was  when  the  troops  occupied  the  Mission  that  the  second 
floor  was  put  in  the  church  edifice  as  shown  on  the  engrav- 
ing made  from  a Daguerreotype  of  that  period. 

Bartlett  mentions  also  that  “ten  miles  from  San  Diego 
(which  would  be  four  or  five  miles  from  the  mission)  is 
Soledad  Hill,  which  is  very  steep  and  difficult  to  pass,” 
The  Rancheria  of  Soledad,  frequently  noted  in  the  Baptismal 
Register,  probably  lay  in  its  vicinity.  Furthermore,  Bartlett 
speaks  of  San  Pasqual,  thirty-six  miles  from  San  Diego,  as 
the  scene  of  an  engagement  between  United  States  soldiers 
and  Californians.9 

Writing  thirty  years  later,  in  1883,  Henry  Chapman 
Ford  says  of  Mission  San  Diego : “But  little  is  left  of  the 

former  buildings,  except  a portion  of  the  church,  and  the 
adjacent  dormitories.  The  chapel  is  used  as  a stable;  several 
colonies  of  wild  bees  have  taken  possession  of  the  cavities 

9 A description  of  this  will  be  found  in  Missions'  and  Missionaries , 
vol.  iv,  pp.  573-574. 


306  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

over  the  lintels  of  the  doors;  and  a family  of  owls  startle 
the  visitor  with  their  screams  as  he  intrudes  on  their  solitude. 
At  one  time  the  Mission  was  used  as  a barracks,  and  the 
irreverent  soldiers  did  much  to  hasten  its  ruin.  They  also 
cut  down  and  used  for  fuel  a portion  of  the  fine  orchard. 
There  still  remain,  however,  many  old  olive,  pear,  and  fig 
trees,  and  a few  of  the  date  palms  planted  by  the  Fathers. 
From  these  were  taken  the  cuttings  with  which  originated 
most  of  the  olive  orchards  of  California.” 

Less  than  a decade  later,  in  1891,  a movement  was  made 
for  restoring  parts  of  the  mission  at  least.  The  San  Diego 
Sun  of  October  16,  for  instance,  gave  expression  to  the 
wish  that  something  be  done  as  follows : “The  restoration 

of  the  Old  Mission,  the  first  Christian  outpost  in  California 
proper,  is  much  to  be  desired.  It  is  a cheerful  augury  that 
Father  Ubach  is  interested  in  such  a plan  and  will  devote 
his  energy  and  zeal  to  its  success.  Enough  remains  of  the 
building  to  give  its  restoration  the  significance  of  repairs 
only,  thus  avoiding  a substitute  structure  and  a diminished 
popular  and  historical  interest  in  it.” 

On  the  day  before,  October  15,  the  same  paper,  San  Diego 
Sun,  brought  this  bit  of  news:  “The  six  mission  bells, 

which  were  cast  at  San  Bias  in  1791  and  1802,  will  be  sent 
to  Baltimore  to  be  recast  into  two  bells,  which  will  be  used 
in  the  Indian  school  buildings.  Two  of  the  bells  hung  for 
years  behind  the  Old  Town  chapel,  and  another  one  is  at 
the  military  barracks,  whither  it  was  conveyed  when  the 
troops  abandoned  their  original  quarters  in  the  Old  Mission.” 
A week  later,  on  October  22,  the  San  Diego  Union  was 
more  explicit.  It  said : “The  restoration  of  the  San  Diego 

Mission,  the  first  of  the  chain  of  stations  established  by 
Padre  Junipero  in  Alta  California,  when  this  region  was  a 
province  of  Spain,  it  has  become  widely  known  is  a cherished 
ambition  of  Rev.  Fr.  Ubach.  His  first  move  is  to  have  the 
ancient  bells  recast,  and  only  a day  or  two  ago  was  this 
desired  permission  received  from  Bishop  Mora  of  Los 
Angeles.  Two  have  been  in  the  uncompleted  brick  church 
at  Old  Town.  One,  which  is  badly  cracked,  hangs  with  a 


Mission  San  Diego 


307 


sound  companion  on  the  uprights  at  the  west  end  of  the 
Old  Town  chapel.  This  will  be  brought  in  and  the  one 
now  used  at  the  Indian  school  substituted.  Two  more  are 
at  St.  Joseph’s  in  this  city  and  the  sixth  one  has  been  sent 
up  from  the  United  States  military  barracks  by  Col.  Brayton, 
who  knew  by  legend  that  the  military  had  no  right  to  it,  and 
had  first  made  use  of  the  bell  years  ago  when  they  were 
without  a bugle.  These  bells  are  believed  to  be  largely  of 
silver,  and  they  will  be  shipped  in  a few  weeks  to  a firm 
in  Baltimore  to  be  melted  down  and  recast  in  two  bells  only. 
Speaking  of  the  accepted  belief  that  they  had  come  from 
Spain,  Fr.  Ubach  informed  the  Union  yesterday  that  he 
discovered  very  recently  in  looking  through  the  mission 
records  quite  to  his  surprise,  that  they  had  been  cast  instead 
at  San  Bias,  State  of  Jalisco,  Mexico,  and  which  is  now  the 
Pacific  coast  terminus  of  the  Mexican  Central  railroad.  The 
inscription  on  these  bells  Ave  Maria  Purisima  (Hail  Mary 
Most  Pure)  has  by  Pope  Pius’  Immaculate  Conception  Dogma 
of  December  8,  1854,  come  to  stand  for  Conceived  Without 
Sin.  For  that  reason  Fr.  Ubach  proposes  that  they  shall  be 
recast  on  the  coming  anniversary  of  this  feast  and  with  the 
following  inscription:  Originally  cast  in  San  Bias , Mexico, 

in  1792,  under  Spanish  rule,  and  recast  at  Baltimore,  Md., 
United  States  of  America,  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  1891.” 
What  became  of  the  neophytes?  the  reader  may  ask.  The 
decree  of  confiscation  directed  that  to  each  individual  head 
of  a family  and  to  all  over  twenty  years  of  age  who  had  no 
family,  a plot  of  land  should  be  given  which  was  to  be  not 
more  than  four  hundred  and  not  less  than  one  hundred  yards 
square.  Whether  this  pittance,  too  small  to  eke  out  even 
a scanty  living,  was  ever  allotted  to  the  Indians  of  Mission 
San  Diego,  is  not  known.  Outside  the  orchards  and  vine- 
yards, there  was  little  around  the  mission  property  that  be- 
longed to  the  church.  At  all  events,  it  appears  that  the 
Indians  preferred  to  retire  to  the  mountains,  where  in  mod- 
ern times  their  descendants  have  been  collected  in  reserva- 
tions by  the  United  States  Government.  Let  us  hope  that 
these  homes  of  the  poor  Indians  may  be  perpetual.  The 


MISSION  CHURCH  AND  FRONT  WING  IN  1880  AS  VIEWED  FROM  THE  INNER  COUR1 


Mission  San  Diego 


309 


several  reservations  will  be  described  in  connection  with 
Mission  San  Luis  Rey. 

What  of  the  missionaries  who  were  stationed  at  Mission 
San  Diego?  Little  is  known  of  their  antecedents.  They 
were  Spaniards  and  had  joined  the  Franciscan  Order  in 
the  mother  country.  Here,  too,  they  completed  their  phil- 
osophical and  theological  training,  whereupon  they  were 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  holy  priesthood.  Many  a time, 
no  doubt,  while  busy  with  their  books  in  the  various  monas- 
teries of  the  provinces,  they  heard  it  said  that  men  were 
needed  for  the  extensive  missions  among  the  Indians  of 
Mexico  and  California.  And  driven  on  by  Franciscan  zeal 
and  enthusiasm,  they  after  becoming  priests  pleaded  for  per- 
mission to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  conversion  of  the 
savages.  Then,  bidding  farewell  forever  to  parents  and 
friends  and  all  earthly  prospects,  they  embarked  for  the 
New  World,  supplied  with  the  written  permit  and  certifi- 
cate, testifying  that  the  volunteer  was  intellectually  capable 
and  morally  and  religiously  competent  for  the  great  work 
that  was  to  be  entrusted  to  him.  After  he  arrived  at  the 
Missionary  College  of  San  Fernando  de  Mexico,  his  creden- 
tials, containing  an  account  of  his  antecedents,  were  care- 
fully examined.  These  found  satisfactory,  the  newcomer 
was  heartily  welcomed  and  eventually  incorporated  into  the 
College  family.  The  documents  relating  to  each  friar  were 
deposited  in  the  Archives  and  they  would  be  there  still 
only  for  the  Liberal  politicians  of  the  Carranza  type,  who 
with  insane  hatred  against  Religion  confiscated  and  despoiled 
its  strongholds,  the  monasteries.  Some  of  the  documentary 
material  was  taken  to  the  Government  archives  and  libraries, 
while  much  of  what  belonged  to  the  Missionary  College  of 
San  Fernando  was  publicly  burned  in  the  streets  of  the 
City  of  Mexico.  In  1905,  the  writer  saw  at  the  National 
Museum  four  bound  volumes  of  manuscripts  which  had  be- 
longed to  San  Fernando.  The  letters  of  Fr.  Crespi  and 
Fr.  Jaume,  reproduced  in  this  narrative,  were  among  a num- 
ber of  others.  This  sad  fate  of  the  College  records  accounts 
for  the  dearth  of  historical  data  regarding  the  early  Fathers. 


310  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

Of  their  career  in  the  missions  of  California  we  have  the 
dates  and  the  records  of  what  they  achieved  in  behalf  of 
the  Indians.  Blit  little  of  this  touches  their  own  person, 
except  in  the  case  of  some  who  came  into  prominence  be- 
cause their  mission  or  their  wards  were  attacked.  The 
friars  were  averse  to  notoriety;  and,  unless  compelled,  they 
would  write  little  more  than  the  annual  or  biennial  reports. 
Certain  it  is,  however,  the  friars  were  unselfish  in  their 
aims,  zealous  and  self-sacrificing  in  their  labors,  and  exem- 
plary in  their  conduct.  If  the  Indians  complained  against 
one  or  the  other  that  he  was  too  strict,  this  accrues  rather 
to  his  honor  and  credit;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  there  was  no  more  in  their  com- 
plaint than  in  the  charges  of  indolent  and  turbulent  school- 
boys against  their  well-meaning  teacher ; and,  in  the  second 
place,  such  complaints  only  go  to  show  that  the  friar  was 
a lover  of  law  and  order. 

That  the  life  of  the  missionaries  was  one  of  untold  pri- 
vations and  hardships  goes  without  saying.  The  journey 
from  Mexico  to  California  was  anything  but  a pleasure  trip. 
The  daily  allowance  for  the  journey,  assigned  to  the  friars 
by  the  viceroy,  was  seven  reales  or  87^2  cents.  With  this 
they  had  to  defray  the  cost  of  transportation  while  on  the 
journey  or  voyage.  The  trip  had  to  be  made  within  a 
specified  time,  so  that  if  the  friars  tarried  beyond  the  limit 
of  days  fixed,  they  themselves  were  the  losers,  since  they 
received  no  further  allowance  of  money.  The  expenses  of 
the  journey  were  always  such  as  to  exceed  the  amount 
allowed,  wherefore  the  procurator  of  the  College  through 
the  sindico  would  have  to  supply.  The  latter,  in  turn,  would 
then  often  deprive  the  traveling  friar  even  “of  the  choco- 
late,” as  one  writer  remarks,  “which  is  the  solace  and  com- 
fort of  the  poor  friar.  When  the  missionary  has  arrived 
in  California,”  the  same  writer  continues,  “he  encounters 
new  hardships  and  many  afflictions ; a mode  of  life  begins 
altogether  new  for  him ; on  all  sides  he  sees  nothing  but 
enemies  who  aim  at  nothing  more  than  to  destroy  what- 
ever he  wishes  or  intends  to  construct ; Indians,  soldiers, 


Mission  San  Diego 


3” 

settlers  are  ever  so  many  destroyers  of  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  edifice  of  those  missions;  hence  it  is  that,  in  the 
first  years  in  which  they  exercise  the  ministry,  all  become 
a prey  to  the  deepest  melancholy,  while  some  have  been 
afflicted  with  complete  insanity.  But  all  this  is  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  labors  of  a missionary  in  a newly-founded 
mission.  The  anxieties  and  sorrows  through  which  the 
venerable  religious  pass  in  order  to  establish  a mission,  ex- 
ceed the  limits  of  all  pondering.  The  imagination  cannot 
picture  that  there  are  men  who  without  any  self-interest 
determine  to  undergo  such  hardships ; yet  it  is  certain  that 
these  missionaries  cheerfully  put  up  with  it  all ; nothing 
daunts  them,  they  conquer  everything,  and  they  do  not  rest 
and  are  not  dismayed  till  they  have  brought  the  work  to 
such  a state  that  it  rouses  the  envy  of  the  enemies  to  see 
the  Fathers  administrators  of  such  fair  missions.”  10 

The  meager  data  and  facts  of  the  friars  who  died  at 
Mission  San  Diego  or  who  from  there  returned  to  Mexico 
have  been  gathered  into  brief  sketches,  which  will  take  up 
the  last  chapter  of  this  narrative. 


i°  Domingo  Rivas  in  Las  Misiones  de  Alta  California,  pp.  183-185. 
Mexico,  Palacio  Nacional,  1914. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Biographical  Sketches. — Fr.  Francisco  Gomez. — Fr.  Juan  Vizcaino. — 
Fr.  Luis  Jayme. — Fr.  Juan  Figuer. — Fr.  Juan  Antonio  Garcia  Riobo 
(Rioboo). — Fr.  Juan  Mariner. — Fr.  Hilario  Torrent. — Fr.  Jose  Pa- 
nella. — Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro. — Fr.  Jose  Pedro  Panto. — Fr.  Fernando 
Martin. — Resident  and  Visiting  Fathers  Who  Officiated  at  Mission 
San  Diego. 

WE  conclude  our  narrative  with  biographical  sketches  of 
the  Franciscan  missionaries  who  departed  this  life  at 
Mission  San  Diego  or  who  after  serving  there  for  a time  re- 
tired to  the  Mother  College  of  San  Fernando  in  the  City 
of  Mexico.  The  appended  list  of  missionaries  who  while 
either  residing  or  visiting  at  Mission  San  Diego  adminis- 
tered the  Sacraments  there  at  one  time  or  other,  will  also 
be  of  interest. 

Fr.  Francisco  Gomes  was  one  of  the  first  sixteen  Fran- 
ciscans selected  in  1767  to  take  the  places  of  as  many  retir- 
ing Jesuits  in  the  missions  of  Lower  California.  He  had 
come  to  Mexico  from  the  Franciscan  Province  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  in  Castile,  Spain.  With  Fr.  Junipero 
Serra  and  companions  he  set  out  from  the  College  of  San 
Fernando,  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  on  July  14,  1767.  At 
Tepic  they  had  to  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  cross  the 
Gulf  of  California,  meanwhile  giving  missions  in  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Finally,  on  March  13,  1768,  they  bade 
farewell  to  the  brethren  of  the  convent,  and  at  noon  on  the 
following  day  they  reached  San  Bias,  where  they  embarked 
that  same  evening,  at  eight  o’clock.  It  was  on  Good  Fri- 
day evening,  April  1,  1768,  that  the  little  band  of  mis- 
sionaries arrived  at  the  Port  of  Loreto.  The  next  day  they 
landed,  and  on  Easter  Sunday,  April  3,  Fr.  Presidente  Serra 
officiated  at  the  High  Mass  of  thanksgiving  celebrated  in 
the  pueblo  church,  and  also  preached  an  appropriate  sermon. 
On  Tuesday,  Fr.  Serra  assigned  the  Fathers  to  their  re- 
spective missions,  Fr.  Gomez  being  appointed  to  Mission 


Mission  San  Diego 


3X3 


Nuestra  Senora  de  los  Dolores  or  Mission  de  la  Pasion  as 
it  was  commonly  called.  At  the  time,  four  hundred  and 
fifty  Indian  neophytes  belonged  to  this  mission.-1  It  was 
suppressed  by  Inspector-General  Jose  de  Galvez  in  Septem- 
ber of  that  year,  whereupon  Fr.  Gomez  was  transferred 
to  Santa  Rosalia  de  Mulege.  Here  he  labored  till  about 
January,  1769,  when  Fr.  Presidente  Serra  selected  him  to 
join  the  band  of  friars  who  were  to  devote  themselves  to 
the  missions  in  Upper  California.  On  February  15,  1769, 
he  embarked  with  Fr.  Juan  Vizcaino  on  the  San  Antonio 
and,  on  April  11,  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  San  Diego.  With 
Fr.  Juan  Crespi,  he  was  chosen  to  accompany  the  Portola 
Expedition  to  Monterey,  which  set  out  from  San  Diego  on 
July  14,  1769.  Thus  he  was  one  of  the  discoverers  of  San 
Francisco  Bay.  On  the  way  up,  near  San  Juan  Capis- 
trano, Fr.  Gomez,  on  July  22,  administered  the  first  Bap- 
tism in  Upper  California.  The  subject  was  a dying  Indian 
child,  which- he  named  Magdalena  in  honor  of  the  saint  of 
that  day.  He  returned  to  San  Diego  with  the  expedition 
on  January  24,  1770,  and  was  active  there  with  Fr.  Fer- 
nando Parron  till  March  21,  1771,  when,  being  in  ill  health, 
he  received  permission  from  Fr.  Serra  to  return  to  Mexico. 
He  sailed  on  the  San  Antonio.  For  details  regarding  his 
stay  in  California,  the  reader  may  consult  the  second  volume 
of  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California. 

Fr.  Juan  Vizcaino  was  sent  from  the  College  of  San 
Fernando  to  Lower  California  pursuant  to  a demand  from 
Jose  de  Galvez  for  three  more  friars.  With  him  sailed 
Fathers  Juan  de  Escudero  and  Benito  Sierra.  They  reached 
Cape  San  Lucas  in  February,  1769.  Whilst  his  two  com- 
panions were  assigned  to  missions  on  the  peninsula,  Fr. 
Vizcaino  together  with  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez  were  appointed 
chaplains  for  the  San  Antonio,  which  was  about  to  sef  sail 
for  Upper  California.  They  embarked  on  February  15,  and 
reached  San  Diego  Port  on  April  11,  1769.  Fr.  Vizcaino 


i See  Missions  and  Missionaries,  vol.  i,  p.  304. 


3 14  M issions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

remained  with  Fr.  Serra  and  Fr.  Fernando  Parron,  and  on 
July  16,  1769,  assisted  at  the  founding  of  Mission  San 
Diego.  A month  later,  on  August  15,  the  savages  attacked 
the  mission,  on  which  occasion  an  arrow  pierced  the  hand 
of  Fr.  Vizcaino.  The  arrow  must  have  been  poisoned; 
for  after  more  than  six  months,  the  wound  had  not  yet 
healed  and  was  causing  the  missionary  much  suffering. 
Fr.  Serra,  therefore,  allowed  him  to  retire.  Accordingly, 
on  February  11,  1770,  he  left  with  the  expedition  com- 
manded by  Captain  Rivera  and  arrived  in  Lower  California, 
from  where  he  doubtless  returned  to  the  College  in  the 
City  of  Mexico. 

Fr.  Luis  Jaume  (Jayme)  had  been,  like  Fr.  Serra,  a mem- 
ber of  the  Franciscan  Province  of  Mayorca.  When  he  came 
to  America  and  joined  the  Missionary  College  of  San  Fer- 
nando de  Mexico  is  not  known.  In  October,  1770,  he  was 
chosen  with  nine  companion  friars  for  the  missions  of  Upper 
California.  When  they  reached  Tepic,  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity for  sailing  till  January  20,  1771.  They  arrived  at 
San  Diego  on  March  12 ; but  already  on  April  14,  they 
all  re-embarked  and  landed  at  Monterey  on  May  21.  Here 
Fr.  Presidente  Serra  assigned  Fr.  Jaume  to  Mission  San 
Diego.  Taking  passage  once  more  on  July  7,  in  the  San 
Antonio,  the  vessel  that  had  brought  him  from  San  Bias, 
Fr.  Jaume  finally  began  his  labors  at  Mission  San  Diego, 
which  at  that  time  was  still  situated  on  presidio  hill  near 
what  is  now  called  Old  Town.  As  stated  in  an  early  chap- 
ter, it  was  Fr.  Jaume  who  proposed  that  the  mission  be 
moved  farther  up  the  river.  The  transfer  was  accomplished 
in  August,  1774.  Here  he  labored  so  successfully  that  the 
jealousy  of  the  pagan  medicinemen  was  aroused.  About  one 
o’clock  on  Sunday  morning,  November  5,  1775,  a*  horde  of 
pagan  Indians  aided  by  a few  faithless  neophytes  set  fire 
to  the  mission  buildings  and  cruelly  murdered  Fr.  Jaume, 
who  went  out  to  the  mob  saluting  them  with  his  usual 
“Amar  a Dios,  hijos ! — Love  God,  children !”  What  fol- 
lowed has  been  described  in  the  foregoing  pages.  The 
mangled  body  of  the  missionary,  showing  eighteen  arrow 


Mission  San  Diego  315 

wounds  eight  of  which  were  mortal,  was  later  recovered  in 
the  arroyo,  and  taken  to  the  presidio,  where  it  was  given 
temporary  burial.  Its  entry,  the  first  in  the  restored  Death 
Register,  reads  as  follows:  “On  the  sixth  day  of  November 
of  the  said  year,  1775,  I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  in  the 
church  of  the  royal  presidio  of  San  Diego  to  Fr.  Lector 
and  Preacher  Apostolic  and  missionary  of  this  mission,  Fr. 
Luis  Jaume,  who  was  killed  without  receiving  the  holy 
Sacraments ; but  it  is  knowm  to  me  that  on  the  day  preced- 
ing his  death  he  celebrated  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass,  and 
that  on  the  feast  of  All  Saints  he  made  his  confession  to 
me.  In  order  that  it  be  known  and  there  remain  (forever, 
if  it  can  be)  a remembrance  of  what  has  happened,  it  has 
appeared  just  to  me  to  be  somewhat  explicit  in  this  entry, 
recommending  for  God’s  sake  to  all  that  may  read  it,  that 
they  pray  to  God  for  said  Fr.  Luis  Jaume.  Requiescat  in 
Pace. — In  testimony  of  which  I sign  at  this  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  on  January  26,  1777.  Fr.  Vicente  Fuster.” 

When  the  new  mission  church  was  completed,  the  body  of 
Fr.  Jaume  was  exhumed  and  interred  in  the  sanctuary.  The 
exact  date  of  this  event  is  not  known.  Here  the  remains 
of  the  martyred  friar  rested  until  November  12,  1813,  when 
the  third  church  was  dedicated.  In  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  they  with  those  of  Fr.  Figuer  and  Fr.  Mariner,  who 
had  meanwhile  been  buried  here,  were  transferred  to  the 
church  and  deposited  in  one  grave,  though  in  separate  boxes, 
between  the  main  and  side  altars.  The  relics  of  Fr.  Jaume 
in  the  smallest  chest  were  interred  nearest  the  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin;  those  of  Fr.  Mariner  in  the  largest  chest, 
near  the  statue  of  San  Diego;  and  those  of  Fr.  Figuer  far- 
ther to  the  south.  Three  stones  were  placed  over  the  tomb. 
Fr.  Thomas  Ahumada,  a Dominican  friar  in  charge  of  Mis- 
sion San  Miguel  in  Lower  California,  preached  the  sermon 
on  that  occasion. 

Fr.  Juan  Figuer  was  originally  a member  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan Province  of  Aragon.  The  date  of  his  coming  to 
America  is  not  known.  In  1770,  he  set  out  with  twenty- 
nine  Franciscans  destined  for  the  missions  in  Lower  Cali- 


VIEW  OF  MISSION  RUIN  FROM  THE  REAR. 


Mission  San  Diego 


317 


fomia.  They  arrived  at  Tepic  that  same  year,  in  October, 
but  not  till  the  next  February  could  they  cross  the  Gulf  of 
California.  Storms  drove  the  vessel  San  Carlos  to  Acapulco, 
and  in  trying  to  return,  the  ship  ran  aground  within  sight 
of  Manzanillo.  Whilst  the  other  Fathers  made  their  way 
up  the  coast  by  land,  a distance  of  three  hundred  leagues, 
to  Tamasula  in  Sinaloa,  opposite  Loreto,  Fr.  Figuer  and 
Fr.  Marcelino  Senra  remained  on  board  the  vessel  until  it 
was  repaired  and  then  continued  the  voyage  by  sea.  But 
heavy  storms  again  set  in,  so  that  the  San  Carlos  did  not  land 
at  Loreto  until  August  30,  1771,  seven  months  after  leav- 
ing San  Bias.  Fathers  Figuer  and  Senra  served  as  assist- 
ants at  Mission  San  Francisco  Borja.  In  1772,  Fr.  Figuer 
was  stationed  at  Mission  Todos  Santos.  From  here  Fr. 
Palou,  in  the  fall  of  1772,  sent  him  with  Fr.  Ramon  Usson 
to  San  Diego,  where  they  arrived  in  November.  They  were 
intended  for  the  new  Mission  of  San  Buenaventura,  at  the 
request  of  Fr.  Serra.  But  as  the  founding  of  this  mission 
was  delayed,  Fr.  Figuer  was  sent  to  Mission  San  Gabriel, 
where  his  first  entry  in  the  Baptismal  Register  is  dated  May 
10,  1773.  From  here  he  was  transferred  to  Mission  San 
Luis  Obispo,  where  his  first  enTy  bears  the  date  of  August 
28,  1774.  He  remained  here  until  June,  1777,  his  last  entry 
being  dated  June  13.  Fie  was  then  sent  to  Mission  San 
Diego,  where  his  first  entry  appears  under  date  of  August 
31,  1777.  At  this  mission,  as  elsewhere,  the  interference 
of  the  governor  was  becoming  intolerable.  Therefore,  both 
Fr.  Figuer  and  Fr.  Lasuen  determined  to  retire  to  Mexico 
and  informed  Fr.  Presidente  Serra  to  that  -effect.  In  reply, 
Fr.  Figuer  received  a beautiful  letter  from  Fr.  Serra,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  changed  his  mind  and  continued 
at  his  post  till  death  relieved  him.2  He  departed  this  life 
only  four  months  after  the  death  of  Fr.  Serra.  His  last 
entry  in  the  Baptismal  Register,  under  number  1070,  is  dated 
December  5,  1784.  In  the  Death  Register,  the  record  of 


2 For  this  letter  we  refer  the  reader  to  Missions  and  Missionaries  of 
California,  vol.  ii,  pp.  385-389. 


318  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

his  interment  reads  as  follows:  “No.  263.  Rev.  Fr.  Preacher 
Apostolic  Juan  Figuer. — On  the  nineteenth  day  of  Decem- 
ber, in  the  year  1784,  in  the  church  of  the  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  to  the  body  of  the  Rev. 
Fr.  Juan  Figuer,  Preacher  Apostolic  of  the  College  of  the 
Propagation  of  the  Faith  of  San  Fernando  de  Mexico, 
missionary  at  this  mission,  member  of  the  holy  Province 
of  Aragon,  and  native  of  Anento  in  said  dominion.  He 
received  very  devoutly  the  holy  Sacraments  of  Penance, 
Eucharist,  and  Extreme  Unction.  In  witness  of  which  I 
have  signed  on  said  day,  month  and  year. — Fr.  Fermin 
Francisco  de  Lasuen.”  For  the  autograph  signature  of  Fr. 
Figuer  see  page  129. 

Fr.  Juan  Antonio  Garcia  Riobo  (Rioboo),  formerly  a 
member  of  the  Franciscan  Province  of  Santiago  de  Galicia, 
in  Spain,  was  destined,  in  1770,  with  twenty-nine  other 
Franciscans  for  Lower  California.  While  the  other 
Fathers  sailed  in  another  vessel,  Fr.  Riobo  was  directed  to 
accompany  the  new  governor  of  California,  Don  Felipe 
Barri,  and  his  family  to  Loreto.  He  reached  Cerralvo  on 
March  22,  1771,  and  received  permission  from  Er.  Palou 


to  take  temporary  charge  of  the  two  Indian  pueblos  San 
Jose  and  Santiago  on  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California. 
On  May  27,  1773,  on  the  cession  of  Lower  California  to 
the  Dominicans,  .Fr.  Riobo  with  five  companions  retired  to 
the  College  of  San  Fernando.  On  February  12,  1779,  he 
and  Fr.  Matias  Noriega  sailed  as  chaplains  from  San  Bias 
on  the  Nuestra  Se flora  del  Rosario,  otherwise  known  as 
La  Prince sa,  which  was  sent  on  a voyage  of  exploration. 
On  August  1.  1779,  at  sixty  degrees  and  a few  minutes 
latitude,  the  Princesa  cast  anchor  in  a bay  to  which  was 
given  the  name  Nuestra  Senora  de  Regia,  better  known  as 
Prince  William’s  Sound.  After  stopping  a while  in  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  having  arrived  there  on  Septem- 


Mission  San  Diego 


3T9 


ber  15,  the  vessel  with  Fr.  Riobo  on  board  returned  to 
San  Bias  in  November.  On  June  2,  1783,  Fr.  Riobo  arrived 
at  San  Francisco  in  the  San  Carlos,  this  time  to  stay  in  the 
missions.  At  San  Carlos  Mission,  he  found  Fr.  Presidente 
Serra  in  ill  health.  The  following  August,  when  Fr.  Serra 
took  passage  on  the  returning  San  Carlos  for  San  Diego, 
he  had  Fr.  Riobo  accompany  him,  and  in  September  both 
arrived  at  the  mission.  Fr.  Riobo  was  to  stay  there  if  a 
Father  were  needed.  However,  his  name  does  not  appear 
in  the  Baptismal  Register  of  that  mission  until  September 
28,  1785 ; and  his  last  entry  in  it  is  dated  November  7,  1786. 
It  would  seem  that  he  accompanied  Fr.  Serra  to  San  Gabriel, 
for  he  enters  a Baptism  there  on  June  27,  1784.  Apparently 
he  remained  there  for  over  a year,  since  his  last  entry  is 
dated  October  27,  1785.  On  his  way  to  San  Gabriel,  he 
must  have  stopped  for  a while  at  San  Juan  Capistrano ; at 
least,  his  name  appears  on  the  Baptismal  Register  of  that 
mission  under  date  of  February  15,  1784,  on  which  occa- 
sion he  administered  the  Sacrament  to  five  persons.  After 
November  7,  1786,  his  name  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  Prob- 
ably, he  retired  to  Mexico. 

Fr.  Juan  Mariner.  Of  the  antecedents  of  this  Franciscan 
nothing  is  known.  He  was  sent  to  California  from  the 
missionary  College  of  San  Fernando,  in  1785,  and  arrived 
at  Monterey  probably  the  following  August,  for  in  that  same 
year  we  find  him  baptizing  at  San  Carlos  Mission  on  Sep- 

tember  4,  and  at  San  Juan  Capistrano  Mission  on  Octo- 
ber 21.  A few  weeks  later  he  was  at  San  Diego  Mission 
where  his  first  entry  in  the  Baptismal  Register  is  dated  De- 
cember 5,  1785.  Thenceforth  he  labored  at  this  mission 
until  his  death.  At  the  request  of  Fr.  Presidente  Lasuen, 
Fr.  Mariner,  in  August,  1795,  accompanied  an  expedition 
in  search  of  sites  for  the  contemplated  Mission  of  San  Luis 
Rev.  His  last  entry  in  the  Baptismal  Register,  under  num- 


320  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


ber  2,711,  is  dated  January  20,  1800.  Nine  days  later,  on 
January  29,  he  passed  to  his  eternal  reward.  Following  is 
the  entry  of  his  burial:  “No.  1,059.  Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Mariner. 
On  January  30,  1800,  in  the  church  of  this  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  in  the  presbytery,  I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  to  the 
body  of  the  Rev.  Fr.  Juan  Mariner,  Missionary  Apostolic 
and  missionary  of  this  Mission,  who  died  the  day  before, 
at  half-past  eleven  in  the  night.  In  witness  whereof  I signed 
this. — Fr.  Jose  Faura.” 

Fr.  Hildrio  Torrent 3 appears  for  the  first  time  in  a letter 
of  Fr.  Guardian  Juan  Sancho,  who  writes  under  date  of 
April  1,  1786,  to  Fr.  Lasuen,  that  Fr.  Hilario  Torrent  was 
coming  to  California  with  five  other  Franciscans;  that  he 
belonged  to  the  Province  of  Catalonia,  where  he  had  been 
guardian  of  a monastery  for  three  years,  and  for  many  years 


vicar  of  a monastery;  that  he  was  talented  and  highly 
esteemed ; and  that  he  had  volunteered  for  California.  Fr. 
Torrent  accordingly  must  have  been  nearer  fifty  than  forty 
years  of  age  when  he  arrived  on  the  coast.  He  was  at  once 
placed  in  charge  of  Mission  San  Diego  and  labored  there 
till  November,  1798,  although  during  the  two  last  years 
he  was  almost  entirely  disabled,  mentally  and  physically. 
In  September,  1797,  Fr.  Lasuen  wrote  that  Fr.  Torrent  had 
gone  on  September  27  to  San  Diego  in  order  to  set  sail 
for  Mexico.  But  apparently  no  opportunity  presented  itself 
until  November  of  the  following  year.  Fr.  Torrent  offi- 
ciated at  Baptisms  during  the  year  1797,  but  Fr.  Mariner 
or  Fr.  Panella  would  enter  them  in  the  register,  which 
shows  that  the  poor  friar  must  have  been  badly  crippled. 
His  last  Baptism  was  administered  on  October  22,  1797 

3 Thus  the  friar  wrote  his  name;  others  wrote  it  Torrens.  Between 
July  10,  1786,  and  November  15,  1787,  the  friar  himself  plainly  puts 
a t at  the  end  of  his  name  and  uses  no  rubric;  later  on,  the  letter 
looks  more  like  an  s. 


Mission  San  Diego 


321 


It  is  number  2,295  in  the  list,  and  it  was  entered  for  him 
by  Fr.  Mariner.  The  last  time  he  administered  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Matrimony  was  on  January  24,  1797.  After  leav- 
ing California,  on  November  8,  1798,  Fr.  Torrent  lived  only 
a short  time.  He  passed  to  his  reward  before  May  14,  1799, 
a violent  attack  of  convulsions  bringing  on  the  end,  as  Fr. 
Guardian  Miguel  Lull  informed  Fr.  Lasuen. 

Fr.  Jose  Panella  arrived  in  California  during  the  year 
1797.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  antecedents.  He  was  sta- 
tioned at  San  Diego,  where  his  first  entry  in  the  Baptismal 
Register  is  dated  June  2,  1797,  and  his  last,  October  27, 
1802,  after  which  his  name  no  longer  appears.  Apparently, 
he  was  staying  a short  time  at  San  Luis  Rey;  but,  if  we 


may  believe  Bancroft,  Fr.  Panella  made  enemies  of  the  In- 
dians there  as  also  at  San  Diego.  The  Fr.  Presidente,  how- 
ever, could  find  nothing  worth  while  in  the  complaints 
launched  against  this  friar.  According  to  Bancroft,  he 
sailed  for  Mexico  on  October  4,  1803,  with  the  permission 
of  his  Superior. 

Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro,  a native  of  Burgos,  Spain,  was  sent 
to  the  California  Missions  by  the  College  of  San  Fernando 
in  the  year  1805.  Probably,  on  August  31,  of  that  year, 


he  landed  at  Monterey.  From  there  he  appears  to  have  soon 
after  traveled  overland  southward ; for,  on  September  13, 
he  enters  a Baptism  in  the  Register  of  Mission  San  An- 
tonio. Having  reached  his  destination,  San  Fernando  Mis- 
sion, he  baptized  for  the  first  time  on  October  5,  1805.  His 
last  entry  there  is  dated  June  12,  1807.  Being  in  ill  health, 


322  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

he  was  permitted  to  go  to  Mission  San  Diego  in  order  to 
recuperate.  His  first  baptismal  entry  there  is  dated  August 
9,  1807,  on  which  day  he  baptized  twice.  Only  nine  days 
later,  on  August  18,  death  relieved  him  of  his  maladies. 
His  burial  is  recorded  as  follows:  “No.  1,727.  Rev.  Fr. 
Nicolas  Lazaro.  On  August  19,  1807,  Fr.  Barona  gave 
ecclesiastical  burial,  in  the  church  of  this  Mission  of  San 
Diego,  beneath  the  statue  of  San  Jose,  to  the  body  of  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro,  supernumerary  missionary  of  said 
mission,  member  of  the  holy  Province  of  Burgos,  and  for- 
merly missionary  at  the  Mission  of  San  Fernando  Rey,  he 
having  received  the  holy  Sacraments  which  our  holy  Mother 
the  Church  prescribes.  In  witness  whereof  I sign. — Fr.  Jose 
Sanchez.” 

Fr.  Jose  Pedro  Panto  arrived  at  San  Diego  from  the 
College  in  Mexico  on  July  28,  1810,  and  served  there  until 
his  death  which  occurred  two  years  later.  He  baptized  at 
the  mission  for  the  first  time  on  February  27,  1811,  and  for 
the  last  time  on  June  21,  1812,  nine  days  before  his  death. 
In  the  Death  Register,  the  entry  of  his  burial  reads : 
“No.  2,143.  Rev.  Fr.  Pedro  Panto.  On  July  2,  in  the  year 


1812,  in  the  church  of  this  Mission  of  San  Diego,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Rev.  Fr.  Thomas  Ahumada,  a Dominican, 
I gave  ecclesiastical  burial  to  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Fr. 
Pedro  Panto,  deceased  of  said  mission,  member  of  the  holy 
Province  of  San  Miguel,  and  native  of  Valverde  del  Fresno. 
In  preparation  for  death  he  received  the  holy  Sacraments 
of  Penance  (he  could  not  receive  the  Viaticum)  and  Ex- 
treme Unction.  He  passed  away  on  June  30,  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  He  died  from  food  poisoned  by 
the  (Indian)  cook,  according  to  opinions.  Fr.  Geronimo 
Boscano.” 


Mission  San  Diego 


323 


Fr.  Panto  received  only  the  Sacraments  of  Penance  and 
Extreme  Unction.  He  could  not  receive  the  Holy  Eucharist 
on  account  of  constant  vomiting.  His  companion,  Fr.  San- 
chez, being  absent  when  he  was  stricken,  and  no  priest 
being  able  to  arrive  from  San  Luis  Rey  in  time,  notice  was 
sent  to  Mission  San  Miguel  in  Lower  California  to  Fr. 
Ahumada,  as  Fr.  Presidente  Estevan  Tapis  writes  from 
Mission  Purisima  on  July  4,  1812. 

Fr.  Fernando  Martin  was  born  on  May  26,  1770,  in  the 
Villa  de  Robledillo,  diocese  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  in  Old 
Castile,  Spain.  He  entered  the  Franciscan  Order,  on  April 
29,  1787,  in  the  convent  of  St.  Francis  in  Ciudad  Rodrigo, 
belonging  to  the  Franciscan  Province  of  San  Miguel  supra 
Tagum.  For  eleven  years  and  two  months  after  his  ordi- 
nation, he  remained  a member  of  this  convent,  preaching 
in  the  surrounding  country.  Then  he  departed  for  Mexico 
and  arrived  at  the  College  of  San  Fernando,  where  he  wafc 


incorporated  on  June  20,  1810,  and  at  once  destined  for  the 
California  Missions.  On  the  way  to  California,  he  under- 
went many  hardships,  owing  to  the  bad  condition  of  the 
roads,  which  had  been  washed  away  by  floods,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  insurrection  which  had  spread  over  the  coun- 
try. Finally,  on  July  6,  1812,  he  reached  Mission  San 
Diego,  having  journeyed  by  land.  San  Diego  was  his  only 
scene  of  labor.  He  discharged  his  priestly  duties  at  the 
mission  and  presidio  for  twenty-seven  years,  after  which 
he  was  called  to  his  eternal  reward.  Both  Fr.  Sarria  and 
Fr.  Payeras,  Commissary  Prefects  of  the  Missions,  spoke 
highly  of  Fr.  Martin’s  zeal  and  deemed  him  worthy  to  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  brethren  in  California.  Although 
he  had  taken  the  Oath  of  the  Independence,  Fr.  Martin, 


324  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

like  all  but  two  of  the  Franciscans  in  California,  in  1826, 
declined  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new  Mexican 
Constitution,  which  Fr.  Narciso  Duran  correctly  declared 
was  not  the  expression  of  the  whole  people  of  Mexico. 
Nevertheless,  Fr.  Martin  offered  to  swear  allegiance  with 
the  clause  “as  far  as  is  compatible  with  my  religious  pro- 
fession” or  “in  everything  not  contrary  to  my  conscience,” 
with  which  any  reasonable  government  would  have  been 
satisfied.  Since  Fr.  Martin  was  a Spaniard,  he,  too,  not- 
withstanding his  great  services,  was  marked  for  expulsion 
from  California;  but  in  the  end  he  was  permitted  to  remain, 
because  no  missionaries  of  Mexican  birth  could  be  secured.3 
Unfortunately,  the  second  Book  of  Burials  is  lost,  so  that 
the  entry  of  Fr.  Martin’s  death  and  burial  cannot  be  repro- 
duced. All  we  know  is  that  he  was  called  to  his  eternal 
reward  on  October  19,  1838,  and  that  he  was  laid  to  rest 
within  the  church  building.  Bancroft 4 says  that  “he  was 
an  exemplary  friar.” 

List  of  Resident  and  Visiting  Fathers  Who  Officiated  at 
Mission  San  Diego. 

Fr.  Junipero  Serra — July  1,  1769- April  16,  1770. 

Fr.  Fernando  Parron — April  29,  1769- April,  1771. 

Fr.  Juan  Vizcaino — April  11,  1769-February  11,  1770. 

Fr.  Francisco  Gomez — April  11,  1769-March,  1771. 

Fr.  Juan  Crespi — May  14,  1769-July  14,  1769;  January  24 
to  17,  1770. 

Fr.  Antonio  Paterna,  March  12- April  14 ; July  14- August 
6,  1771. 

Fr.  Francisco  Dumetz — March  12,  1771-September,  1772. 

Fr.  Luis  Jayme — July,  1771-November  4,  1775. 

Fr.  Juan  Crespi — May,  1772-September,  1772. 

Fr.  Pedro  Benito  Cambon,  July,  1771-August,  1771. 

Fr.  Thomas  de  la  Pena — May,  1772-September.  1773. 

Fr.  Angel  Somera — July,  1771-August,  1771. 

3 For  the  controversy  on  this  matter  see  Missions  and  Missionaries 
of  California,  vol.  iii,  245-268;  282;  vol.  ivr,  pp.  80-81. 

4 Vol.  iii,  p.  619. 


Mission  San  Diego 


32S 

Fr.  Francisco  Palou — August  30-September  26,  1773. 

Fr.  Juan  Prestamero — August  30-September  26,  1773. 

Fr.  Jose  Antonio  Murguia — August  30-September  26, 
1773. 

Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen — August  30-September 
26,  1773. 

Fr.  Gregorio  Amurrio — August  30,  1773-May,  1774. 

Fr.  Vicente  Fuster — August  30,  1773- July  27,  1777. 

Fr.  Junipero  Serra — March  13-April  6,  1774. 

Fr.  Pablo  Mugartegui — March  13,  1774-September,  1774. 

Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen — November  10,  1775-Sep- 
tember  5,  1785. 

Fr.  Antonio  Paterna — February  22,  1777. 

Fr.  Juan  Figuer — August  31,  1777-December  18,  1784. 

Fr.  Miguel  Sanchez — June  9,  1779. 

Fr.  Pablo  Mugartegui — June  19,  1780. 

Fr.  Vicente  Fuster — August  5,  1780;  February  23,  1783. 

Fr.  Junipero  Serra — October  2,  1783. 

Fr.  Juan  Antonio  Garcia  Riobo — September  28,  1785-No- 
vember  7,  1786. 

Fr.  Juan  Mariner — December  5,  1785- January  29,  1800. 

Fr.  Flilario  Torrent — November  11,  1786-September  27,  1798. 

Rev.  Jose  Lopez  y Nava,  Chaplain  of  the  San  Carlos — 
November  12,  1787. 

Fr.  Juan  Norberto  de  Santiago — December  17,  1788. 

Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen — November  21,  1789; 
March  11  and  19,  and  April  23,  1791. 

Fr.  Caietano  Pallas,  O.  P. — April  5,  1791. 

Fr.  Josef  de  Loriente,  O.  P. — September  7,  1791  ; June 
22,  1792;  July  20,  1798. 

Fr.  Nicolas  Loesa,  Chaplain  of  Transport  Ship — Novem- 
ber 6,  1792. 

Fr.  Cristobal  Oramas — October  13  and  14,  1793. 

Fr.  Miguel  Pieras — September  17  and  19,  1794. 

Fr.  P>artolome  Gili — October  10-November  4,  1794. 

Fr.  Mariano  Apolinario,  O.  P. — October  15,  1794;  Octo- 
ber 26,  1795. 

Fr.  Miguel  Lopez,  O.  P. — May  27  and  June  12.  1795. 


326  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Fr.  Jose  Senan — October  17  and  November  1,  1795. 

Fr.  Pedro  Esteban — November  14,  1795-July  1,  1797. 

Fr.  Antonio  Danti — October  20  and  29,  1796. 

Fr.  Juan  Norberto  de  Santiago — May  28  and  July  2, 
1797. 

Fr.  Thomas  Valdellon,  O.  P. — February,  1797. 

Fr.  Joseph  Panella — June  2,  1797-January  20,  1803. 

Fr.  Joseph  Conause,  O.  P. — July  20,  1798. 

Fr.  Joseph  Barona — August  4,  1798- January  24,  1811. 

Fr.  Ramon  Lopez,  O.  P. — November,  1798. 

Fr.  Jose  Faura — July  1,  1798;  February  15  and  October 
1,  1799;  August  30,  1800. 

Fr.  Jose  de  la  Cruz  Espi — December  15,  1799 — January 
5,  1800. 

Fr.  Francisco  X.  Uria — December  18,  1799. 

Fr.  Miguel  Giribet — January  12,  1800. 

Fr.  Antonio  Peyri — March  5,  1800. 

Fr.  Eudaldo  Surroca,  O.  P. — November  1 and  5,  1801. 
Fr.  Jacinto  Lopez — November  23,  1801. 

Fr.  Pedro  Esteban— May  21  and  September  5-October 
3,  1802. 

Fr.  Mariano  Payeras — December  11,  1803-September  30,  1804. 
Fr.  Josef  Bernardo  Sanchez — October,  1804-May  16,  1820. 
Fr.  Pedro  de  la  Cueva  or  Cuevas — September  30,  1806. 
Fr.  Jose  Portela,  O.  P. — July,  1805. 

Fr.  Jose  Garcia — February  2,  5,  15  and  18;  September 
8 and  10,  1807 ; September  9-October  30,  1808. 

Fr.  Nicolas  Lazaro — Tune  25-August  18,  1807. 

Fr.  Domingo  de  Carranza,  O.  P. — May  18,  1809;  No- 
vember 25,  1810. 

Fr.  Pedro  Gonzalez,  O.  P. — October  25.  1808. 

Fr.  Pedro  Panto — January,  1811-July  1,  1812. 

Rev.  Jose  Maria  Afanador,  Chaplain  of  the  San  Carlos 
— October  12,  1809. 

Fr.  Domingo  Iturrate — November  10,  1809. 

Fr.  Fernando  Martin — July  6,  1812-October  19,  1838. 

Fr.  Thomas  Ahumada,  O.  P. — March  18,  1813 ; May  2, 
1814. 


Mission  San  Diego 


32  7 


Fr.  Vicente  de  Sarria — November  7,  1813. 

Fr.  Geronimo  Boscana — May  and  June,  1812;  November 
21,  1813. 

Fr.  Jose  Miguel  de  Pineda,  O.  P. — May  13  and  21,  and 
June  17,  1815. 

Fr.  Vicente  de  Sarria — July  23,  1818;  January  1,  1826. 

Fr.  Jayme  Escude — July  23,  1818. 

Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual  Oliva — June  28,  1820-January,  1832. 

Fr.  Jose  Martinez,  O.  P. — November  12,  1820. 

Fr.  Mariano  Payeras — August  29,  1821. 

Fr.  Jose  Bernardo  Sanchez — August  29,  1821. 

Fr.  Felix  Caballero,  O.  P. — February  14  and  28,  and 
May  14,  1824;  December  7,  1826;  October  and  No- 
vember, 1830;  February  13  and  August  27,  1831; 
August  15-September  10,  1834. 

Fr.  Antonio  Menendez  (at  Presidio) — March  31,  1824-Octo- 
ber  16,  1829. 

Fr.  Antonio  Anzar — July  13  and  23,  1831. 

' Fr.  Jose  Mariano  Sosa — December  4-6,  1832. 

Fr.  Jose  Maria  del  Real — February  17,  1833. 

Fr.  Domingo  Luna,  O.  P. — June  4,  1833. 

Fr.  Narciso  Duran — July  12,  1833. 

Fr.  Jose  Viader — November  17,  19  and  22,  1833. 

Fr.  Buenaventura  Fortuni — September  22,  1833- July  27,  1834. 

Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual  Oliva — August,  1834- June  14,  1846. 

Fr.  Juan  Cabot — February  1 -March  20,  1835. 

Fr.  Francisco  Gonzalez  Ibarra — December  11,  1837;  Sep- 
tember 7 and  8,  1838;  January  18,  1839. 

Fr.  Thomas  Mansilla,  O.  P. — February  28,  1840 ; June 
9,  1844;  June  and  July,  1848. 

Fr.  Francisco  Sanchez — December  30,  1841. 

Fr.  Ignacio  Ramirez  Arellano,  O.  P. — July  4,  August  2, 
and  October  25,  1844. 

Fr.  Antonio  del  Real — November  18,  1845. 

Rev.  Juan  Crisostomo  FLolbein,  C.  SS.  CC. — July,  1849-Sep- 
tember,  1854. 

Rev.  Pedro  Bagaria — 1855-1857. 

Rev.  John  Molinier — 1858-1863. 

Rev.  Antonio  Ubach — 1866-April  27,  1907. 


APPENDIX 


A. 

(To  Page  9.) 

San  Diego — Sanctus  Didacus — Saint  Didacus 
Patron  of  the  Harbor,  City,  Mission,  River  and  County  of 
San  Diego. 

Diego  was  born  toward  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century  at  San 
Nicolas  del  Puerto,  a town  fifteen  leagues  from  Seville,  the  capital 
of  the  Province  of  Andalusia,  in  Spain.  His  parents  were  of  the 
poorer  class.  But  they  were  deeply  religious  and  brought  up  their 
child  for  God  and  holiness.  At  an  early  age  he  sought  the  company  of 
a holy  hermit  priest,  with  whom  he  led  a life  of  solitude  and  prayer. 
When  not  occupied  with  devotional  exercises,  the  two  would  work  in 
their  little  garden  or  make  wooden  spoons,  trenchers,  and  similar 
utensils.  In  this  way  they  earned  a livelihood  and  overcame  the 
greatest  obstacle  to  sanctity — idleness.  Having  lived  several  years 
with  the  hermit,  Didacus  longed  to  walk  still  more  closely  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  .Redeemer  and  therefore  went  to  the  convent  of  the 
Pranciscans  at  Arrizafa.  He  asked  for  and  received  admission  into 
the  Order  of  St.  Francis  among  the  lay  brothers  who  attend  to  the 
domestic  work  of  the  community  of  religious.  After  his  solemn  pro- 
fession, that  is,  after  he  had  taken  the  usual  vows  of  obedience, 
poverty,  and  chastity,  the  saintly  friar  was  selected  to  accompany  a 
Franciscan  Father  to  the  Canary  Islands.  In  this  new  field  of 
activity,  Didacus  proved  wonderfully  apt  in  teaching  the  rudiments 
of  Christianity  to  the  idolatrous  natives  and  succeeded  in  converting 
large  numbers  of  them  to  the  Faith  of  Christ.  The  result  was  that, 
although  a lay  brother,  he  was  appointed  superior  of  the  Franciscan 
convent  on  one  of  the  islands,  called  Fonteventura.  How  he  longed 
to  shed  his  blood  for  Christ  at  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  But 
this  singular  privilege  was  not  to  be  his.  Probably  on  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office,  his  superiors  recalled  him  to  Spain  where  he 
lived  in  various  convents  of  the  Order,  a shining  example  of  religious 
fervor,  childlike  simplicity,  profound  recollection,  and  severe  austerity. 
1 1 He  seemed  so  much  absorbed  in  God,  ’ ’ says  Alban  Butler,  1 1 as 
scarce  to  be  able  to  speak  but  to  Him  or  of  Him;  and  the  humility, 
ardor,  and  lively  sentiments  with  which  he  always  discoursed  of 
heavenly  things,  discovered  how  much  he  was  dead  to  himself,  and 
replenished  with  the  divine  Spirit.” 

In  1450,  Didacus  accompanied  Fr.  Alonso  de  Castro  to  Rome,  to 


Appendix 


329 


share  in  the  great  jubilee  celebration  proclaimed  by  Pope  Nicholas  Y. 
He  stayed  in  the  Eternal  City  thirteen  weeks,  during  which  time  he 
proved  how  ardently  he  loved  God  by  his  heroic  works  of  charity. 
Day  and  night  he  nursed  the  sick,  and  though  a scarcity  of  food  had 
set  in,  those  under  his  care  never  lacked  proper  and  wholesome  food. 

Returning  to  Spain,  the  servant  of  God  spent  the  next  thirteen  years 
in  the  Franciscan  houses  of  Seville  and  Castile.  As  time  went  on, 
the  sanctity  of  the  lay  brother  became  more  apparent.  By  constant 
self-denial  he  had  gained  full  control  over  perverse  nature.  Like  St. 
Paul,  he  chastized  his  body  and  brought  it  into  subjection.  His 
brethren  never  saw  him  troubled,  never  heard  an  impatient  or  unkind 
word  from  him.  Having  no  other  will  but  that  of  his  divine  Master, 
he  accepted  good  and  evil  with  equal  cheerfulness  as  coming  from 
Him  to  whom  he  had  consecrated  himself.  To  penance  and  self-denial 
he  joined  incessant  prayer  and  spent  long  hours  each  day  in  con- 
templating the  attributes  and  works  of  God.  Frequently  at  such  times 
his  body  was  seen  raised  from  the  ground. 

Tn  1463,  Didacus  took  sick.  This  happened  at  Alcala  where  he 
spent  the  last  years  of  his  life.  He  realized  that  he  would  soon 
pass  to  a better  life  and  with  increased  fervor  began  to  prepare 

himself  for  the  final  struggle.  When  in  his  last  agony,  he  asked 
for  a cord  such  as  the  friars  wore,  and  placing  it  around  his  neck 
and  holding  a crucifix  in  his  hands,  he  turned  to  his  brethren  assembled 
around  his  bed  and  begged  their  pardon  for  any  scandal  he  might 
have  given  them.  All  were  deeply  touched,  while  tears  welled  from 
the  eyes  of  the  dying  saint.  Then  fixing  his  eyes  on  the  crucifix,  he 
repeated  with  great  tenderness  the  words  of  the  hymn  of  the  Cross, 
Dulce  lignum , dulces  clavos,  and  quietly  passed  to  his  eternal  reward. 
It  was  November  12,  1463.  King  Philip  II,  of  Spain,  joined  the 

people  in  soliciting  the  canonization  of  the  servant  of  God.  Rome 
heeded  the  petition  and  the  usual  rigid  examination  into  the  life  of 
the  friar  began.  It  was  amply  proved  that  the  saintly  lay  brother 
had  practiced  in  an  heroic  degree  the  theological  virtues  of  Faith, 
Hope,  and  Charity,  the  moral  virtues  of  Prudence,  Justice,  Fortitude, 
and  Temperance,  and  the  three  religious  vows  of  Obedience,  Poverty, 
and  Chastity,  whereupon  he  was  accorded  the  title  of  Venerable. 
Finally,  unmistakable  proof  having  been  presented  that  through  the 
intercession  of  Venerable  Didacus  at  least  two  miracles,  that  is  works 
such  as  only  God  can  effect,  had  been  wrought,  Pope  Sixtus  V,  in 
1588,  placed  his  name  in  the  catalogue  of  saints.  Not  till  then  was 

it  lawful  to  style  him  St.  Didacus  or  San  Diego.  November  13  was 

assigned  as  the  day  on  which  the  Church  at  large  was  to  celebrate 
the  feast  of  the  newly  canonized  saint.  By  special  privilege,  however, 
the  Franciscan  Order  celebrated  and  still  celebrates  his  feast  on 
November  12,  the  day  on  which  he  died.  It  was  also  on  this  day 
that  the  harbor  of  San  Diego  was  re  discovered  and  named. 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  MISSION  SAN  DIEGO. 


Appendix 


33i 


B 

(To  Page  18.) 

Prof.  J.  M.  Guinn,  of  Los  Angeles,  author  of  ponderous  County 
histories,  in  this  connection  made  a discovery  for  which  he  should 
receive  due  credit.  Referring  to  the  scurvy  on  the  ship,  he  says: 
‘ ‘ Its  appearance  and  ravages  were  largely  due  to  the  neglect  of 
sanitary  precautions  and  to  the  utter  indifference  of  those  in  authority 
to  provide  for  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  sailors.  The  intercession 
of  the  saints,  novenas,  fasts,  and  penance  were  relied  upon  to  protect 
and  save  the  vessel  and  her  crew,  while  the  simplest  sanitary  measures 
were  utterly  disregarded.  A blind,  unreasoning  faith  that  was  always 
seeking  interposition  from  some  power  without  to  preserve  and  ignoring 
the  power  within,  was  the  bane  and  curse  of  that  age  of  superstition.  ’ ’* 
When  one  reads  with  what  solicitude  Inspector-General  Jose  de 
Galvez  fitted  out  the  ships  for  their  voyage  to  California,  one  cannot 
help  being  amazed  at  the  audacity  of  this  would-be  historian.  Guinn’s 
fling  at  the  saints,  etc.,  reveals  monumental  ignorance  of  the  subject 
he  touches  and  an  itchy  disposition  to  ridicule  and  misrepresent  the 
Faith  of  the  missionaries  who  had  naught  wherewith  to  have  them- 
selves canonized  in  the  Professor’s  Hist,  and  Biogr.  Bee.,  at  the  rate 
of  twenty-five  dollars  per  page. 


C. 

(To  Pages  33  and  37.) 

Notwithstanding  that  Fr.  Junipero  Serra ’s  words  and  actions  as  to 
the  abandonment  of  California  determined  upon  by  Gaspar  de  Portola 
are  exactly  recorded  by  the  best  authority,  Dr.  Charles  E.  Chapman, 
in  The  Founding  of  the  Spanish  California,  p.  99,  writes,  “A  story 
has  sprung  up  that  Portola  might  (would)  have  abandoned  Alta 

California  but  for  Father  Serra.” 

So,  it  is  only  a story!  Is  that  the  way  to  state  an  undisputed 
historical  fact?  Unpalathble  though  it  may  be,  a fact  of  history 

will  not  be  twisted  by  a conscientious  historian  and  palmed  off  as 
something  that  has  no  other  than  legendary  basis.  Dr.  Chapman 

says:  ‘‘The  latter  (Fr.  Serra)  is  said  (!!!)  to  have  prevailed  upon 

the  commander  to  delay  his  departure,  with  the  result  that  the 

San  Antonio  was  sighted  the  very  day  before  Portola  planned  to 
leave.  If  it  is  true,  then  Serra  is  to  he  credited  with  having  saved 
the  Alta  California  establishments  in  their  first  hour  of  need.”  The 
insertions  and  italics  are  ours.  Notwithstanding  this  just  conclusion, 
Dr.  Chapman  immediately  .goes  to  work  and  over  two  pages  tries 


* Guinn,  Historical  and  Biographical  Becord,  p.  46.  See  Missions 
and  Missionaries  of  California , vol.  iii,  Appendix  K,  for  another 
remarkable  charge  of  this  would-be  historian. 


332  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


hard  to  make  it  appear  that  the  credit  nevertheless  belongs  to 
Portola!  Portola  deserves  credit  for  bringing  back  to  San  Diego 
every  man  of  his  unsuccessful  expedition  to  the  north.  That  was  a 
feat,  indeed;  but  to  vindicate  to  him  the  honor  of  having  saved 
California,  an  honor  according  to  Dr.  Chapman  himself  due  to  Fr. 
Serra,  after  Portola  had  practically  abandoned  the  territory,  is  a 
kind  of  logic  we  can  not  comprehend.  The  reader  is  cordially  invited 
to  study  the  facts  as  stated  by  us  and  by  H.  H.  Bancroft  himself. 

Another  author,  Dr.  H.  G.  Priestly  in  Jose  de  Galvez , p.  254. 
endeavors  to  show  that  neither  Fr.  Serra  nor  Portola  deserves  the 
honor,  although  he  admits  that  Fr.  Serra  ‘‘saved  the  expedition  at 
San  Diego  when  Portola,  discouraged  at  the  sickness  and  sorry  plight 
of  the  first  expedition,  was  ready  to  attempt  to  save  the  party  by 
returning  to  the  peninsula.  ” Dr.  Priestly  holds  that  Don  Jose  de 
Galvez  should  be  credited  with  having  first  settled  California,  because 
he  conceived  the  plan.  Yet,  we  ask,  who  directed  Galvez  to  proceed 
on  that  line?  The  Spanish  Government,  for  which  we  refer  the  reader 
to  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California,  vol.  ii,  pp.  3-4.  Galvez 
planned  the  details  of  the  expedition,  it  is  true ; but,  just  as  his 
plans  and  regulations  for  Lower  California  resulted  in  confusion  and 
failure,  as  Fr.  Palou  points  out  (see  vol.  i,  p.  367),  so  also  the 
expeditions  which  he  despatched  to  Upper  California  ended  in  disaster 
and  failure.  It  was  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  who,  to  use  a military  term, 
wrested  victory  from  defeat.  It  was  he  who  planted  Religion  and 
civilization  in  California  by  founding  “his  missions  and  supported 
these  without  a peso  of  government  aid;  who  introduced  and  fostered 
husbandry  among  the  natives  and  made  it  possible  among  the  settlers, 
whose  foundations  without  recompense  for  long  periods  supported 
even  the  government  troops  with  the  common  necessities  of  life,  whose 
Indian  settlements,  when  stolen  from  their  lawful  owners,  became  the 
nucleus  of  California’s  agricultural  development.  To  wThom  is  the 
honor  due?  Let  California  answer  by  hastening  to  set  up  a statue 
of  Junipero  Serra  in  her  empty  niche  in  the  Hall  of  Fame.”  America, 
New  York,  January  13,  1917,  pp.  332-333. 


D. 

(To  Page  212.) 

It  may  be  news  to  Smythe  and  his  kind  that  the  Catholics  in  the 
United  States,  in  addition  to  paying  taxes  for  the  support  of  public 
schools,  are  maintaining  5000  private  or  so-called  parochial  schools, 
in  which  1,750,000  children  are  being  educated  by  about  42,000  teach- 
ers. This  represents  an  extra  annual  outlay  of  $55,000,000.  So  much 
for  the  sacrifices  which  Catholics  of  this  country  are  making  in  behalf 
of  education. 

Possibly,  Smythe  and  his  kind  will  shut  their  eyes  to  this  huge 
effort  of  their  Catholic  fellow  citizens  in  the  interest  of  education,  and 
claim  that  the  schools  under  Catholic  auspices  are  behind  the  times 


Appendix 


333 


and  sadly  lacking  in  efficiency;  but  on  this  score  they  may  possess 
their  souls  in  peace.  The  teachers  in  these  schools,  as  a rule,  make 
teaching  their  life  work,  their  vocation,  and  not  merely  a stepping- 
stone  to  something  more  profitable  or  agreeable.  Hence  they  may  be 
regarded  as  experts  in  their  line.  Though  reasonable,  this  statement 
may  not  appear  convincing,  therefore  we  adduce  proof.  Wherever 
and  whenever  the  pupils  of  the  Catholic  schools  are  brought  into  com- 
petition with  those  of  the  public  schools,  the  former  not  only  hold 
their  own,  but  actually  carry  off  far  more  than  their  proportion  of 
jjrizes.  Without  leaving  the  southern  district  of  California,  nay,  with- 
out leaving  San  Diego  County,  we  can  point  to  conclusive  evidence 
that  education  at  least  equal  to  that  provided  in  the  public  schools 
is  acquired  in  the  Catholic  schools.  As  a bit  of  contemporaneous  his- 
tory, and  as  a proof  of  our  claim,  it  will  interest  the  student  of  his- 
tory and  the  friends  of  education  to  state  just  one  instance.  The 
United  States  War  Department  early  in  1920  announced  a prize  contest 
for  an  essay  of  400  words  on  the  subject  “The  Benefits  of  Enlistment 
in  the  United  States.’’  One  should  think  that  such  a theme  would  be 
foreign  to  a school  conducted  by  Nuns.  As  the  competition  was  open 
to  all  elementary  and  high  schools  without  discrimination,  the  pupils 
of  numerous  Catholic  schools  entered  the  arena  to  contest  for  the 
prize.  Not  as  much  noise  was  made  over  the  result  in  this  district  as 
would  have  been  made  if  a public  school  had  come  out  victorious.  It 
so  happened,  however,  that  an  obscure  educational  institution  in  San 
Diego  County  carried  off  the  first  prize  offered  to  the  Southern  Mili- 
tary District  which  comprises  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Southern 
California  from  Santa  Barbara  inclusive  to  San  Diego  inclusive. 

The  prize  essay  was  furnished  bv  a young  miss  of  the  high  school 
department  of  the  school  connected  with  the  former  Mission  of  San 
Luis  Rey  and  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Her 
essay  was  selected  as  the  best  from  50,000  papers  submitted  by  pupils 
of  the  public  and  the  parochial  schools  of  the  Military  District.  The 
judges  were  Major  , General  Kuhn,  commander  of  the  said  Military 
District,  Colonel  Allen  Smith,  and  Captain  Warren  Carberry.  The 
presentation  of  the  prize  by  Major  Fay  took  place  at  San  Luis  Rey 
on  Sunday,  April  11,  1920. 

It  might  be  asserted  that  this  outcome  was  purely  accidental;  but 
the  enemies  of  the  Catholic  school  system  will  have  to  forego  even 
this  consolation.  Letting  alone  the  fact  that  Catholic  pupils  carried 
off  more  than  their  proportion  of  prizes  in  the  other  forty-nine  Mili- 
tary Districts,  it  is  but  fair  to  state  that  the  young  prize  winner  of 
San  Luis  Rev’s  little  high  school  had  two  girl  competitors  in  her  class 
whose  essays  were  so  nearly  equal  to  her  own  prize  essay  that  various 
outside  judges  found  it  difficult  to  arrive  at  a decision. 

Lastly,  that  it  may  not  be  said  the  pupils  had  secured  their  educa- 
tion at  some  other  institution,  be  it  known  that  the  prize  winner  had 


334  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


been  an  inmate  of  San  Luis  Rey ’s  Academy  for  four  years,  and  that 
she  has  still  one  year  to  study  before  she  graduates. 

In  this  connection,  and  as  a bit  of  contemporaneous  history  con- 
cerning Old  Mission  San  Diego,  the  reader’s  attention  is  called  to 
another  evidence  that  the  Catholic  Church  favors  and  fosters  education 
among  her  children  of  every  race  in  keeping  with  the  times,  coun- 
tries, and  other  circumstances.  The  late  Rev.  Antonio  Ubach,  for 
more  than  forty  years  pastor  of  San  Diego  and  surrounding  district 
including  the  Indians  of  the  sierras,  erected  a large  frame  school 
building  on  the  northwest  side  or  to  the  left  of  the  old  Mission  church, 
for  Indian  girls.  On  the  southeast  end  of  the  runied  Mission  build 
ings  he  erected  another  frame  structure  which  was  to  be  used  as  a 
dormitory  for  Indian  boys.  For  the  first  school  year,  1887,  the  average 
attendance  of  Indian  children  was  fifty-four  girls  and  boys,  for  whose 
board,  clothing,  and  primary  education  the  United  States  Government 
under  contract  contributed  monthly  $12.50  per  capita.  Of  course,  this 
contribution  could  not  cover  the  expense  and  Father  Ubach  had  to 
supply  the  deficiency.  The  institution  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  of  Carondelet,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  who  have  a 
convent  and  academy  in  San  Diego.  In  honor  of  the  zealous  pastor, 
this  educational  institution  was  named  for  his  Patron  Saint — St.  An- 
thony’s School.  It  continued  for  twenty  years,  sometimes  having  an 
enrollment  Y)f  nearly  100  Indian  boys  and  girls,  until  the  summer  of 
1907,  in  which  year,  on  April  27,  its  founder’s  active  life  was  crowned 
by  a pious  death.  Since  then  the  buildings  have  been  vacant,  the 
children  attending  either  the  Banning  Boarding  School  or  the  day 
schools  that  arose  nearer  their  homes. 


E. 

(To  Page  235.) 

The  following  list  is  a copy  of  the  Mission  Inventory  of  the  year 
1834.  It  was  compiled  by  an  apparently  unlettered  Californian,  who 
employed  phonetic  spelling  to  such  an  extent  that  the  copy  in  parts 
was  rendered  untranslatable  and  unintelligible.  We  endeavored  to 
rectify  some  of  the  more  glaring  errors. 

It  will  be  seen  that  church  and  vestry  were  well  supplied.  The 
enumeration  and  valuation  of  the  bells  will  especially  interest  some 
readers;  also  the  fact  that  an  organ  is  mentioned  at  the  foot  of  the 
list.  .This  may  be  the  instrument  Vancouver  presented  to  Fr.  Lasuen. 
There  is  no  reference  anywhere  else  that  the  Mission  possessed  an 
organ,  or  that  this  was  anything  but  a barrel  organ. 

The  names  at  the  end  of  the  copy  are  not  autographs.  Rocha  was 
the  commissioner  of  secularization,  and  Fr.  Martin  (not  Martines) 
was  the  missionary  in  charge,  and  both  of  course  signed  the  original. 

Fr.  Oliva  with  his  own  hand  dated  and  signed  the  document  eight 
years  later,  and  added  his  rubrica.  On  the  same  occasion,  J.  A. 
Gongora,  Justice  of  the  Peace  at  San  Diego,  and  Macario  Rivera  cer- 

4 


Appendix  335 

tify  that  the  Copy  of  the  Inventory  agrees  faithfully  with  the  orig 
inal.  They  sign  this  statement  each  with  his  own  hand. 

In  conclusion  Father  Oliva  writes  the  Nota  at  the  end,  and  com- 
plains that  this  Inventory  lacks  the  entries  for  the  field  implements, 
and  that  it  nowhere  states  how  many  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  the 
Mission  possessed  in  1834.  This  note  and  signature  is  also  in  Fr. 

Oliva’s  own  hand. 

Inventario  General  de  las  Existencias  de  la  Mision  de  San  Diego 
hecho  el  Dia  20  de  Sept,  de  1834. 

EXISTENCIAS  DE  LA  IGLESIA. 

2 Casuyas  raso  bianco  guarnecidas  de  brieho  ordinario  angosto 


con  todo  adorno,  valuadas  a 15  pesos 3ft 

4 Dichas  blancas  con  guarnicion  con  galon  fino,  a 5 20 

1 Dicho,  medio  uso,  a 10 10 

2 Casuyas  nuevas  de  terciopelo  negro  guarnecidas  de  galon  de 

plata  y oro  fino,  a 30 60 

2 Idem  de  idem  negras  de  Damasco  viejo,  a 5 10 

2 Dealmaticas  de  tercippelo  negro  con  sus  bolas  guarnicion  de 

galon  fino,  a 30 60 

1 Casuya  de  terciopelo  encarnado  guarnicion  de  galon  de  plata, 

a 30  30 

1 Idem  de  lustercia  misma  guarnicion  de  medio  uso,  a 12.  . . . 12 

1 Casuya  de  Damasco  galon  ordinario  medio  uso,  a 10 10 

2 Idem  Damasco  guarnicion  galon  fino  angosto  y viejas,  a 5 ...  . 10 

1 Casuya  raso  Morado  bordado  en  hilo  de  oro  y forada  en  tafe- 

tan  de  medio  uso,  a 30 30 

1 Idem  de  Damasco  morado  medio  uso  guarnicion  galon  de  plata 

fino,  a 16 16 

1 Idem  de  idem  medio  uso  galon  angosto  fino,  a 12 12 

2 Idem  de  idem  Damasco  verde  guarnicion  de  oro  fino  medio  uso, 

a 15  30 

1 Capa  negra  de  terciopelo  guarnocion  de  galon  de  plata,  a 50.  50 

1 Idem  nueva  raso  negro  guarnecida  de  liston  de  seda,  a 20.  . . . 20 

1 Idem  encarnada  de  Damasco  guarnicion  de  galon  de  oro,  a 40.  40 

1 Idem  de  dos  caras  de  Damasco  verde  y morada  guarnicion  de 

galon  oro  fino  medio  uso,  a 25 25 

1 Idem  de  Damasco  encarnado  vieja  guarnicion  de  galon  de  oro 

fino,  a 8 8 

1 Idem  de  raso  bianco  labrado  guarnicion  de  galon  de  plata,  a 8 8 

1 Frontal  de  terciopelo  labrado  negro  galon  de  plata  fino  nuevo, 

a 35  35 

2 Idem  de  Damasco  viejos  de  galon  de  plata,  a 10 20 

1 Idem  de  dos  Caras  Damasco  guarnicion  de  galon  fino,  a 20 . . . 20 

1 Idem  de  terciopelo  guarnicion  de  oro  fino  muy  viejo,  a 8 8 

1 Idem  de  tisu  de  plata  color  encarnado  con  fleco  de  plata,  a 60  60 


CM  CM 


336  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


1  Idem  color  de  rosa  guarnicion  de  plata  viejo,  a 5 5 

1 Idem  de  raso  bianco  labrado  nuevo  guarnicion  de  galon  de  oro 

falso,  a 12 12 

1 Idem  de  dos  caras  de  medio  uso  guarnicion  de  galon  fino,  a 15  15 

1 Palio  de  Damasco  bianco  con  guarnicion  de  galon  angosto  fino 

medio  uso,  a 25 25 

1 Muceta  de  Damasco  bianco  y guarnecido  de  galon  de  plata 

angosto,  a 4 4 

1 Amasal  de  Damasco  bianco  guarnicion  de  galon  angosto  fino, 


a 4 4 

1 Idem  de  pana  negra  guarnicion  de  galon  de  plata,  a 10 10 

0 Naguillas  de  la  Cruz,  a 3 18 

1 Casuya  de  Damasco  bianco  labrado  guarnicion  de  galon  de  oro 

fino  todo  nuevo  con  lo  necesario,  a 50 50 

2 Dealmaticas  de  idem  de  idem,  a 50 100 

1 Frontal  de  idem  de  idem,  a 40 40 

1 Aruasal  de  idem  de  idem,  a 16 16 

1 Idem  raso  bianco  bordado  de  a 16 16 

1 Frontal  pequeno  de  tisu  la.brado  guarnicion  de  oro  fino,  a 12.  . 12 

1 Idem  raso  rosa  medio  uso,  a 6 6 

18  Albas  de  Islanda  con  sus  encajes,  a 6 108 

3 Albas  de  musolinas  labradas  con  sus  encajes  y clasicos,  a 8.  . 24 

1 Idem  de  idem  de  encaje,  a 40 40 

4 Idem  de  idem  de  musolina,  a 10 40 

1 Idem  de  idem  de  encaje,  a 30 30 

1 7 Manteles  Islanda  corriente,  a 3 51 

2 Idem  de  idem  clasicos,  a 15 30 

21  Amitos  ordinarios  de  Islanda  nuevos,  a 1:4 31:4 

Amitos  de  puntos,  a 3 6 

Idem  de  musolino,  a 2 4 

35  Corporales  de  cambray,  a 2 70 

72  Purificadores  finos,  a 4 rs 36 

26  Manutegos,  a 4 rs 13 

2 Cingulos  clasicos,  a 10  ps 20 

1 Idem  de  idem,  a 24  ps 24 

1 Cortina  de  tabernaculo,  a 2 ps 2 

7 Sobre  pellis  (Sobrepelliz),  a 3 ps 21 

15  Cubre  altares,  a 2 ps 30 

1 Mantel  manta  blanca,  a 4 ps 4 

12  Tuayas,  a 1 ps  4 rs 18 

17  Roquetes  nuevos,  a 3 ps 51 

7 Roquetes  viejos,  a 4 rs 3:4 

2 Cortinas  Barondales,  a 7 ps 14 

1 Idem  idem  de  idem,  a 10  ps 10 

4 Cortinas  Indiana  fina  grandes  y nuevas,  a 15  ps 60 

1 Idem  ehica  de  mascados,  a 3 ps  4 rs 3:4 


Appendix 


337 


2 Cortinas  de  Damasco  para  el  dosel,  a 5 ps 

3 Panos  de  madras,  a 2 ps  4 rs 

2 Frontales  de  Indiana  con  encaje,  a 3 ps  4 rs 

7 varas  Damasco  nuevo  encarnado,  a 3 ps 

4 vara  galon  fino  ancho  de  oro,  a 7 ps 

1214  varas  espigueta  de  plata  fina,  a 1 ps 

7 Mascados  de  seda  y 1 tapalo,  a 1 ps 

1  Tapalo,  a 1 ps 

4 varas  Damasco  nuevo  encarnado,  a 3 ps 

1  vara  galon  con  espigueta,  a 8 ps 

1 Misal  aforado  en  terciopelo  Colorado  carmesi  guarnicion  de 

plata,  a 100  ps 

1 Idem  medio  uso  sin  guarnicion,  a^l2  ps 

3 Misales  vie  j os,  a 4 ps 

1 Caliz  de  plata  dorado  con  su  patena  y eueharita  con  peso  de. 

4 Marcos  5 onsas,  a 8 ps  marco 

1 Idem  idem  idem,  3 idem,  1 idem,  a 8 

1 Idem  idem  idem,  2 idem,  4 14  idem,  a 8 

1 Idem  idem  idem,  3 idem,  2 idem,  a 8 

4 Espejos  grandes;  y 1 idem,  a 300  ps 

1 Copon  de  plata  con  2 marcos  4 onsas,  a 8 

1 Eelicario  de  idem  idem  idem,  3 idem,  a 8 

1 Idem  de  oro  con  idem,  1^,  a 16 

1 Santa  Cruz  de  plata  con  5 marcos,  a 8 

2 Candeleros  idem  con  12  idem,  4 idem,  a 8 

1 Nabeta  con  su  cuchara  con  3 idem,  1 idem,  a 8 

1 Insensario  idem  con  5 idem,  4 idem,  a 8 

1 Cruz  alta  idem  con  24  idem,  3 idem,  a 8 

2 Siriales  idem  con  28  idem,  4 idem,  a 8 

3 Crismeros  idem  con  1 idem,  3 idem,  a 8 

1 Salero  y su  Cristo,  2 idem,  idem,  a 8 

1 Coja  y platos  idem,  6 idem,  a 8 

1 Candelerito  de  idem,  1 idem,  7 idem,  a 8 

6 Candeleros  de  bronze  grande,  a 3 ps 

6 Idem  medianos,  a 1 ps  4 rs 

5 Idem  pequenos,  a 1 ps 

1 Insensario  con  su  nabeta,  a 6 ps 

1 Asetro  de  bronze,  a 2 ps  4 rs 

1 Idem  de  cobre,  a 2 ps  4 rs 

2 Lamparas  de  bronze 

3 Campanillas,  a 1 ps 

1 Ostiario  de  bronze,  a 1 ps 

1 Eueda  con  11  campanitas,  a 10  ps 

1 Bandeja  de  laton,  a 3 ps 

1 Cruz  grande  de  laton.  a 3 ps 

1 Idem  idem  de  idem,  a 3 ps 


10 

7:4 

7 

21 

31:4 

12:4 


1 

12 

8 

100 

12 

12 


37 

25 

20:4 

26 
300 

20 

3 

30 

40 

100 

25 

44 

195 

228 

11 

16 

14 

15 
18 

9 


2:4 

2:4 

3 

1 

10 

3 

3 

3 


33 8 Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 

4 Candeleros  de  cristal  fino  con  sus  toubas  a 100 100 

2  Candeleros  con  bonbas  de  cristal,  a 28 28 

20  Lamparas  de  cristal,  a 1 ps  4 rs 30 

2 Idem  de  cristal  cuajado,  a 5 ps 10 

3 Yasos  para  lamparas,  a 2 rs : 6 

2  Conbas  de  cristal,  a 5 ps 10 

4 Pares  Binegeras  con  sus  platos,  a 3 ps 12 

4 Pincheles  de  cristal,  a 1 ps  4 rs 6 

6 Frascos  de  cristal,  a 1 ps 6 

6 Faroles  de  talco,  a 1 ps  4 rs 9 

4 Reberberos,  a 2 ps 8 

8 Opas  de  Satanilla  encarnado,  a 1 ps  4 rs 12 

1 Alfonbra  grande  medio  uso,  a 30  ps 30 

2 Idem  medianas  de  idem,  a 10  ps 20 

2 Cortinos  azules  de  canamo,  a 5 ps 10 

1 Tabernaculo  madero  ordinario,  a 6 ps 6 

1 Cajon  de  sacristia,  2V2  v.  largo,  1 de  ancho,  a 20  ps 2p 

3 Baules  de  china,  a 10  ps 30 

2 Comodas  medera  fina,  a 20  ps 40 

1 Paul  grande  biejo,  a 4 ps 4 

1 Senor  San  Diego  de  bulto,  a 50  ps 50 

1 Senor  San  Francisco  de  idem,  a 50  ps 50 

1 San  Antonio  de  idem,  a 50  ps 50 

1 Birgen  de  Pilar,  idem  chica,  a 20  ps 20 

1 Santo  Cristo  pequeno  de  madero,  a 8 ps 8 

1 Idem  idem  grande,  a 80  ps 80 

1 Cuadro  3 varas  de  alto  del  Iuicio,  a 30  ps 30 

1 Birgen  de  Dolores  de  bulto,  a 80  ps 80 

1 San  Jose  de  idem,  a 80  ps 80 

1 Purisima  y 1 San  Jose,  a 12  ps 24 

2 Cuadros  de  la  pasion,  a 25  ps 50 

1 San  Diego,  a 25  ps 25 

14  Laminas  de  la  pasion,  a 2 ps 

3 Confesionarios  madera  ordinaria,  a 8 ps 24 

1 Birgen  de  nuestra  Senora  de  la  Luz,  a 5 ps 5 

1 San  Francisco  y San  Antonio,  a 25  ps 50 

1 Cuadro  del  Bautismo,  a 5 ps 5 

1 Bautisterio  de  cobre,  a 20  ps 20 

1 Bandeja  de  idem,  a 3 ps 3 

1 Mesita,  a 1 ps 1 

4 Aranas  de  madero  dorado,  a 50  ps 50 

2 Bonbas  de  cristal,  a 4 ps 8 

2 Espejos,  a 5 ps 10 

4 Atriles  de  madero  fino,  a 3 ps 12 

5 Paulayos  de  ojo  de  lata,  a 5 rs 3:1 

1 Monumento  viejo,  a 30  ps 30 


339 


Appendix 


2  Campanas  de  bara  a bronze,  a 100  ps 200 

2  Esquilas  de  idem,  a 25  ps 50 

1  Campana  de  idem,  a 50  ps 50 

1 Campanita,  a 15  ps 15 

1 Organo,  a 70  ps 70 


Juan  Jose  Rocha 


Fr.  Fernando  Martines 


Existences  que  risibio  el  Senor  Comisionado  Don  Juan  Jose 
Rocha  el  25  de  Septembre  de  1834:  Del  R.  P.  Fray 
Fernando  Martin: 

ALMACEN 

18  varas  yA  indiana  de  flores  grandes 
29  v.  sangaleta 
2 piezas  manta  azul 

2 idem  islanda 

1 pieza  sangaleta 

3 idem  manta  blanca  cruda 

18  varas  idem  de  idem 

21  y2  vs  idem  de  idem 

14  vs  indiana  fina 

13  vs  manta  azul  v 

22  vs  indiana  en  retasos 
1 vs  pano  azul  picado 

4 pares  medios  de  algodon 

1 pieza  panb  estrella 

5 vs  idem  de  idem 

3  y vs  eotonia  listada 
15x4  vs  alemanisco 

3 lbs  11  onzas  hilo  de  bolitas 

17  panitos  de  polbos 

15  vs  brin 

4 onzas  hilo  de  bolitas 

4 docenas  botones  grandes 

5 idem  chicos 

23  dedales  de  cobre 

2 llabes  de  barriles 

19  lbs  pita  floja 

1 14  arrobas  tabaco  en  oja 

18  manos  papel 

7 cuchillos  para  matansa 
25  baquetas 
10  pipas  basias 

2 idem  llenas  de  bino 

1 idem  llena  a medias 
5 carcos  de  barriles 
1 cuarterola  binagre 
1 pipa  con  aceitunas 


340  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


1  cuar'terola  a meclias 
] terserola  llena 
30  pesos  jabon 
173  fresadas 

3 piezas  beyeta 
1 pieza  jerga 
47  cotones 

4 cajones  de  cardas 
1 idem  empesado 

10  gamnsas  de  benado 

3 cueros  de  idem 
16  baquetillos 

7 pares  sapatos 
1 y2  arrobas  tabaco  en  oja 
165  cueros  de  res 
FRAGUA 

1 Yungue 

2 machos 

2 martillos 
2 pares  tenasas 
1 clabera 

1 punzon  cuadrado  grande 

1 tapadera 

2 romperleras 

1 clabera  chica 

BANCO 

2 tornillos 

2 taladros 

4 limas 

3 limatones 
2 buriles 

1 cincel 

2 punzones  redondos 

1 media  cana  de  grabar 

2 brocas 
escaradar 

CARPINTERIA 
2 serruehos 
2 asuelas 

4 escoplos 
J formon 

5 barrenas  de  todos  tamanos 
1 martillo 

1 felderete 
1 garlopa 
1 gramil 


Appendix 


34 1 


1  desarmador 
1 oja  tie  pepillo 
1 concel 

ZAPATEKIA 
] horma  nueba 

3 idem  biejas 

SILLEKIA 
1 compas 
7 fierras  de  picar 

1 cuchillo 

OBRAGE 

4 telares 

2 inutiles 
2 tornos 

2 y2  rastrillos 
1 debanador 

12  pares  cardas 
1 peine  para  manta 
1 lisero 
1 balanza 
1 romana 

14  tornos  de  las  mucbachas 

6 y2  arrobas  de  zucar 
80  arrobas  fierro 

4 dosenas  fresedas 

1 0 baquetillas 

7 arrobas  22  lbs  fierro 

3 arrobas  21  lbs  acero 
1 balanza  grande 

25  arrobas  algodon 
1 alambique  viejo 

1 prenza  de  aeeite 

2 pipas  para  echar  aeeite 

2 metates  para  moler  chocolate 

4 idem  para  trigo 

1 idem  de  cosina 

2 alambiques  buenos 
2 idem  inutiles 

USTENCILES  DE  CASA  Y MUEBLES  DE  IDEM 

11  platos  de  mesa 

8 platomitos  chicos 

1 idem  mediano 

2 platones  grandes 

12  platillos  con  tasas  de  cha 
8 saleros 

5 tasas  y 7 platillos 


342  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


1  salsera 

1  tapa  suelta  de  cristal 

1 cunete  destapado 

2 mesas  de  pino  2 varas  % de  largo 

3 mesitas  de  iy2  y 2 varas 
2 bancas  de  pino  biejas 

1 idem  de  cedro  con  cojin 
7 sillas  medero  de  pino 

2 bntaguez  biejos 

1 rinconera  con  una  alisena 

1 frasquera  bieja  sin  frascos 

2 cajas  de  pino  biejas 
1 cajita  con  papeles 

3 damas  juanas 
1 lb  pabilo 

1 cajon  botequin  mediano 
1 idem  mayor 

1 cajon  con  barias  medicinas 
3 botellas  aceite  rosado 
1 idem  estracto  satureno 
1 idem  elixir  paragoric 

1 idem  catolico 

y2  botellon  sal  de  ligera 

3 cajas  biejas 
5 colchones 

4 almuadas 

2 pares  de  sabanas 
4 camas 

2 tibores  chicos  y grandes 

1 tibor  o botija  que  tiene  salazar 

2 dosenas  azadones 

Haber  Sastifecho  a Don  Tomas  121  euero.  Idem  a Don 
Antonio  Menendes  203.  Idem  a Don  G.  A.  Gali  32. 

Una  carta  a donae  consta  que  el  Senor  Don  Antonio  Car- 
rillo debe  250:00 

Don  Joaquin  Ortega 150 : 00 

Don  Domingo  Carrillo 41:00 

Genaro  Peralta  25  reses 

Julio  Osuna  37  idem 

Idem  idem  en  plata 211:00 

Juan  Jose  Rocha  Pray  Fernando  Martines 

Mision  de  San  Diego  Octubre  19  de  1842 
Fr.  Yicente  Pasqual  Oliva 

(rubrie) 

Certificamos  los  abajo  firmados  que  esta  Copia  del  inventario 


to  to 


Appendix 


343 


esta  fielmente  traslaclada  de  su  original  y para  que  conste  donde 
conbenga.  Damos  la  presente  eertificacion  en  la  Mision  de  San 
Diego  a 19  de  Octubre  de  1842 

Jose  Antonio  Gongora 

(rubric) 


Macario  Rivera 

(rubric) 


Nota 

En  este  Inventario  falta  la  entrega  de  bienes  de  campo,  y no 
consta  de  ninguna  parte  que  ganado  mayor  y menor  y caballada 
habia  en  el  ano,  que  se  entrego  la  Mision 


(Oliva’s  rubric) 


F. 

(To  Page  262.) 


Inventario  de  los  Enseres  pertenecientes  a la  Mision  de  San 
Diego,  recibidos  de  E.  L.  Brown  por  Felipe  Crossthwaite, 

San  Diego,  Agosto  6 de  1848 


2 Tazas  de  Cristal 

3 Vasos  id. 

1 Azucarera  id. 

6 Jarros  id. 

2 Bancas  de  pino 

4 Sillas  id. 

1 Silla  Inglesa 
4 Vasos 

2 Soperas  imperfectas 
Platones  azules 
Mesas  de  cocina  de  pino 

1  Molinito  de  mano 
1 Desgranador  de  maiz 
1 Balanza  de  covre  con  sus  pesos 

1 Catre 

3 Escoplos 
3 Barrenas 

3  Barrenas  de  barril 
3 Gurbias 

2 Garlopas 

2  Martillitos 

1 Escuadra  de  fierro 

2 Reloges  imperfectos 

1 Cafetera 

2 Cajas  de  medicina 
2 Chapas  de  puerta 
50  Pares  Cardas 


2 Vasos  grandes 
1 Vaso  chico 

1 Baul  guarnecido  de  fierro  con 
47  Platos  ehicos 

16  Platos  de  mesa 

5 Platos  soperos 

2 Platos  medianos 

2 Tazas  de  cristal 
1 Lechera 

1 Salera 
1 Botella  chica 
1 Cajoncito  de  hoja  de  lata 
1 Baul  de  cuero  cuyo  contenido 
se  ignora 
1 Mesa  de  pino 
1 Espejo 

3 Oandeleros  de  recamara 

6 Platos  medianos 

1 Plato  imperfecto 

4 Platos  chicos 

2 Ollas  grandes  de  fierro 

3 Platos  chicos 

1 Cazo  de  cobre 
ANIMALES 
23  Yeguas 
6 Caballos 
13  Potros 


344  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


1 Muleto 
38  Cabras 

6 Cabritos 
28  Borregas 
5 Corderos 
34  Yacas 
17  Becerros 

2 Bueyes 

7 Burras 
1 Burro 

5 Burritos  y Burritas 

Recibi  del  Senor  E.  L.  Brown  los 
antemencionados  Enseres  de  la 
Mision. 

San  Diego,  Agosto  6 de  1848. 
(Firmado)  Felipe  Crossthwaite.1 


i Sta.  Barb.  Arch.,  1102;  see  also 
Cal.  Arch.  Unbound  Documents,  p. 
173,  Bancroft  Collection. 

Ct. 

(To  Page  265.) 

THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

To  All  To  Whom  These  Presents  Shall  Come.  Greeting: 

Whereas  it  appears  from  a duly  authenticated  transcript  filed  in 
the  General  Land  Office  of  the  United  States  that  pursuant  to  the 
provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  the  third  day  of  March, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-one  entitled  1 1 An  Act  to  ascer- 
tain and  settle  the  Private  Land  Claims  in  the  State  of  California,  ’ ' 
Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Monterey,  in  the  State  of  California,  as  claimant,  filed  his  petition 
on  the  19th  day  of  February  1853,  with  the  Commissioners  to  ascertain 
and  settle  the  Private  Land  Claims  in  the  State  of  California  sitting 
as  a Board  in  the  City  of  San  Francisco,  in  which  petition  he  claimed 
the  confirmation  to  him  and  his  successors  of  the  title  to  certain 
church  property  in  California,  “to  be  held  by  him  and  them  in  trust 
for  the  religious  purposes  and  uses  to  which  the  same  have  been 
respectively  appropriated,  ’ ’ said  property  consisting  of  “church 
edifices,  houses,  for  the  use  of  the  clergy  and  those  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  church,  church  yards,  burial  grounds,  gardens,  orchards 
and  vineyards  with  the  necessary  buildings  thereon  and  appurtenances, 1 ' 
the  same  having  been  recognized  as  the  property  of  said  Church  by 


2 Pasadores 

4 Serruchos 
2 Barras 

2 Aceyteras  imperfectos 
12  Tenedores 
1 Botella  de  cristal 

1 Azucarera 

2 Platitos 
1 Lechera 

6 Tazas  con  sus  piatitos 
1 Tetera 
1 Azucarera 

3 Cajones  vacios 

5 Barriles  vacios 

1 Baul  de  pelo  con 
8 Platones 
1 Azucarera 

1 Tetera 

3 Lecheras 

2 Botellas  para  miel 
2 Botellas  de  cristal 


Appendix 


345 


the  laws  of  Mexico  in  force  at  the  time  of  the  cession  of  California 
to  the  United  States,  and  whereas  the  Board  of  Land  Commissioners 
aforesaid  on  the  18th  day  of  December,  1855,  rendered  a decree  of 
confirmation  in  favor  of  the  petitioner  for  certain  lands  described 
therein  to  be  held  “in  the  capacity  and  for  the  uses  set  forth  in  his 
petition  ’ ’ the  lands  at  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  being  described  in 
said  decree  as  follows:  “The  Church  and  the  buildings  adjoiniug 

thereto,  erected  on  three  sides  of  a quadrangle  and  constituting  the 
Church  and  Mission  buildings  of  the  ancient  Mission  of  San  Diego 
in  San  Diego  County,  together  with  the  land  on  which  the  same  are 
erected  and  the  curtilage  and  appurtenances  thereto  belonging  and  the 
cemetery  adjoining  the  same,  and  also  the  garden  situated  South  of 
the  buildings  above  mentioned  and  a short  distance  therefrom  enclosed 
with  an  adobe  wall,  and  known  as  the  garden  of  said  Missiou,  the 
said  premises  being  the  same  designated  as  ‘ Church  Buildings  ’ and 
‘Garden’  in  the  delineation  thereof  on  Map  numbered  I in  the  Atlas 
marked  ‘ Exhibit  No.  I A.  F.  ’ and  annexed  to  the  deposition  of 
James  Alexander  Forbes,  filed  in  this  case  November  29th,  1854, 
reference  to  be  made  thereto  for  further  description  ” ; and  whereas 
it  further  appears  from  a certified  transcript  filed  in  the  General 
Land  Office,  that  an  appeal  from  said  decree  or  decision  of  the 
Commissioners  having  been  taken  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  to 
the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of 
California,  and  it  being  shown  to  the  Court  that  it  was  not  the 
intention  of  the  United  States  to  prosecute  further  said  appeal,  the 
said  District  Court  on  the  15th  March,  1858,  at  the  regular  term 
“ordered  that  said  appeal  be  dismissed  and  said  appellee  have  leave 
to  proceed  under  the  decree  of  the  said  Land  Commissioners  in  his 
favor  as  a final  decree.”  And  whereas,  under  the  13th  Section  of 
the  said  Act  of  3d  March,  1851,  there  have  been  presented  to  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  a plat  and  certificate  of  the 
survey  of  the  tract  of  land  confirmed  as  aforesaid,  authenticated  on 
the  12th  day  of  August,  1861,  by  the  signature  of  the  Surveyor 
General  of  the  Public  Lands  in  California,  which  plat  and  certificate 
are  in  the  words  and  figures  following,  to  wit: 

(Here  follows  the  minute  description  of  the  tracts  surveyed,  which 
it  is  not  necessary  to  reproduce,  because  the  subjoined  plat  explains 
itself  sufficiently.) 

“United  States  Surveyor  General’s  Office, 

San  Francisco,  California. 


J*  ^ JZ  /O  4.9  C 4 


Appendix 


34/ 


“Under  and  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  the  13th  section  of  the 
Act  of  Congress  of  the  3rd  of  March,  1851,  entitled,  An  Act  to 
ascertain  and  settle  Private  Land  Claims  in  the  State  of  California, 
and  of  the  12th  section  of  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  on  the  31st 
of  August,  1852,  entitled  An  Act  making  appropriations  for  the 
Civil  and  Diplomatic  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending 
the  thirtieth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-three  and  for  other 
purposes,  and  in  consequence  of  a certificate  of  the  United  States 
District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  California,  of  which  a 
copy  is  annexed  having  been  filed  in  this  office,  whereby  it  appears 
that  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  having  given  notice 
that  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  United  States  to  prosecute  the 
appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  said  District  Court,  said  decision 
having  confirmed  the  title  and  claim  of  Joseph  S.  Alemany,  Bishop,  etc., 
to  the  tract  of  land  designated  as  the  Church  and  Mission  buildings  of 
the  Ancient  Mission  of  San  Diego,  the  said  appeal  has  been  vacated 
and  thereby  the  said  decision  in  favor  of  the  said  Joseph  S.  Alemany, 
Bishop,  etc.,  has  become  final.  The  said  tract  has  been  surveyed  in 
conformity  with  the  grant  thereof  and  the  said  decision,  and  do 
hereby  certify  the  annexed  map  to  be  a true  and  accurate  plat  of 
the  said  tract  of  land  as  appears  by  the  field  notes  of  the  survey 
thereof  made  by  Henry  Hancock,  Deputy  Surveyor,  in  the  month  of 
February,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty,  under  the  directions  of  this 
office,  which  having  been  examined  and  approved,  are  now  on  file 
therein.  And  I do  further  certify  that  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  on  the  14th  of  June,  1860, 
entitled  1 An  Act  to  amend  an  Act  entitled  An  Act  to  define  and 
regulate  the  jurisdiction  of  the  District  Courts  of  the  United  States 
in  California  in  regard  to  the  survey  and  location  of  confirmed  private 
land  claims,’  I have  caused  to  be  published  once  a week  for  four 
weeks  successively  in  two  newspapers,  to  wit : the  San  Bernardino 
Herald,  published  in  the  County  of  San  Bernardino,  being  the  news- 
paper published  nearest  to  where  the  said  claim  is  located,  the  first 
publication  being  on  the  1st  day  of  November  1860,  and  the  last  on 
the  9th  day  of  February,  1861,  also  in  the  Los  Angeles  Star,  a news- 
paper published  in  the  City  and  County  of  Los  Angeles,  the  first 
publication  being  on  the  20th  day  of  October  1860,  and  the  last  on 
the  10th  day  of  November  1860,  a notice  that  the  said  claim  had 
been  surveyed  and  a plat  made  thereof  and  approved  by  me.  And 
I do  further  certify  that  the  said  approved  plat  of  survey  was 
retained  in  this  office  during  all  said  four  weeks  and  until  the 
expiration  thereof  subject  to  inspection.  And  I do  further  certify 
that  no  order  for  the  return  thereof  to  the  United  States  District 
Court  has  been  served  upon  me.  And  I do  further  certify  that  under 


348  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


and  by  virtue  of  the  said  confirmation,  survey,  decree  and  publications, 
the  said  Joseph  S.  Alemany  is  entitled  to  a patent  from  the  United 
States  upon  the  presentation  hereof  to  the  General  Land  Office  for 
the  said  tract  of  land,  the  same  being  bounded  and  described  as 
follows,  to  wit: — See  Engraving  of  Missions  and  Lands  confirmed  to 
the  Church. 

NOW  KNOW  YE,  That  the  United  States  of  America,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  premises  and  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act 

of  Congress  aforesaid  of  3d  March  1851,  HAVE  GIVEN  AND 
GRANTED,  and  by  these  presents  DO  GIVE  and  GRANT,  unto  the 
said  Joseph  S.  Alemany,  Bishop  of  Monterey  and  to  his  successors, 
1 1 in  trust  for  the  religious  purposes  and  uses  to  which  the  same 
have  been  respectively  appropriated,  ’ ’ the  tracts  of  land  embraced  and 
described  in  the  foregoing  survey,  but  with  the  stipulation  that  in 

virtue  of  the  15th  section  of  the  said  Act,  the  confirmation  of  this 

said  claim  and  this  patent  “shall  not  affect  the  interests  of  third 
persons.  ’ ’ 

To  Have  and  To  Hold  the  said  tracts  of  land  with  the  appurte- 
nances, and  with  the  stipulation  aforesaid,  unto  the  said  Joseph  S. 
Alemany,  Bishop  of  Monterey,  and  to  his  successors,  in  trust  for  the 
uses  and  purposes  as  aforesaid. 

In  testimony  whereof  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  have  caused  these  letters  to  be  made  patent, 
and  the  Seal  of  the  General  Land  Office  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  the  City  of  Washington, 
this  twenty-third  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  two, 
seal.  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 

the  eighty  sixth. 

By  the  President, 


By  W.  O.  Stoddard,  Secretary 
I.  N.  Granger,  Recorder  of  the  General  Land  Office. 
Recorded  Vol.  4,  pages  94  to  101  inclusive. 

Ed.  Iho. 


Appendix 


349 


H. 

Rancherias  and  Stations  which  were  attended  from  San  Diego 
or  from  which  converts  applied  to  be  admitted  to  Mission 
San  Diego.  After  1798,  some  of  these  came  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Mission  San  Luis  Rey. 

Ajagues,  rancheria  of  Colorado  Indians 

Apanall 

Apusquela  (Apuoquele)  or  La  Purisima  Concepcion 

Batequitos  or  San  Alejo 

Carnijar,  belonging  to  Santa  Isabel 

Cliiayp,  Santo  Domingo,  or  La  Punta 

Las  Choyas  or  San  Antonio 

Choyai  or  San  Luis  Rey 

Coapan  or  Santa  Cruz  in  San  Luis  Rey  Valley 
Cojuat 

Copehor  cerca  de  las  Batequitos 

Cosoy  or  San  Diego,  first  site  of  Mission  San  Diego 

Cusmich 

Cuyamaca,  Cuyamai,  Cuyamac,  Guiamac 

Elcuanan  or  Santa  Isabel 

Elpuhdc 

Ensenada 

Guechi  or  San  Juan  Capistrano 
Guisper 

Hoehapo  or  Santa  Margarita  de  Cortona 
Huato 

Huagil  or  San  Luis  Obispo 

Istagua  or  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Soledad,  ten  miles  west  from  Old 
Town,  four  or  five  miles  from  the  Mission  of  San  Diego 
Iguai  en  la  sierra  de  Cayamac 
Iguapalp 

Jalcomai,  Jalcuamai 

Jamul 

Jacopin  (Aguas  Calientes)  belonging  to  Santa  Isabel 

Jamocha  or  San  Jacome  de  la  Marca 

Janat  or  San  Miguel 

Jagui  belonging  to  Santa  Isabel 

Janisol 

Jasamalg 

Jatapac,  rumbo  de  Pagua 
Jellcuichapachs,  rumbo  de  Pamo 
Jemeefca  belonging  to  Santa  Isabel 


35°  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Jepuc,  i umbo  do  San  Miguel 
Joljol 

Juguil  belonging  to  Santa  Margarita  de  Cortona 

Juscol  or  San  Miguel 

Majattot 

Matamo  or  San  Juan  Capistrano  el  Viejo  (San  Luis  Key) 

Melijo 

Mel-lajo  cerca  de  la  Santo  Domingo 

Neti  (Meti?)  or  San  Jorje 

Nucmoa 

Otay,  Otahay 

La  Punta 

Paguai 

Pamo  or  Asumpcion 
Pelcha  or  Santa  Monica 
Quanayuel  cerca  del  Bescanso 
Rincon  or  San  Francisco 
Saco j a 

Sallagua  or  San  Dieguito,  later  San  Benito  Palermo,  twenty  miles 
from  Old  Town 
Semojo 

Setjun  belonging  to  Santa  Monica 

Taxin  y Jallapo  (La  Corral)  or  San  Rafael 

Tecate 

Teguila  or  San  Felipe 

Tia  Juana  belonging  to  La  Punta 

Rosario 

San  Buenaventura 
San  Bernardo 

San  Sebastian  de  los  Yumas 
San  Isidro 
San  Pasqual 


I. 

Those  who  have  read  Appendix  H on  Mission  Tales  in  Word  and 
Picture,  in  Volume  IV  of  The  Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California, 
will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  various  stories  have  circulated  about 
the  old  Indian  Missions.  Of  these  stories  some  are  quite  silly,  others 
are  vicious  and  made-to-order,  while  others,  well-meant,  indeed,  evolved 
from  promiscuous  reading  of  fiction.  One  of  these  latter  stories  shall 
be  reproduced  here,  since  the  writer  has  been  repeatedly  questioned 
on  it  and  has  heard  similar  ones  told  of  at  least  one  of  the  Missions 
much  farther  north. 

The  courteous  and  able  author  of  Mission  Architecture,  Prent  Duel, 
A.  M.,  writes  on  page  45 : “As  a closing  word  it  may  be  well  to  men- 


Appendix 


351 


tion  the  underground  passages.  Most  missions  of  early  date  possessed 
secret  passages  as  a means  of  escape  in  case  they  were  besieged.  It 
is  difficult  to  locate  any  of  them  now,  as  they  are  well  concealed  or 
fallen  in.  San  Diego  Mission  has  an  underground  passage  of  very 
ingenious  arrangement,  leading,  perhaps,  from  some  room  in  the  mis- 
sion to  the  well  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Its  entrance  has  never  been 
sought  for  and  it  has  for  the  most  part  fallen  in,  as  can  be  found 
by  exploring  from  the  well.  The  passage  led  underground  from  the 
well,  opening  into  the  sides  several  yards  below  the  level  of  the  grade. 
The  padres  could  then  go  and  fetch  water  without  being  seen  by  a 
hostile  band  of  Indians.  Across  the  well,  the  passage  continued  some 
distance  further  and  made  an  exit  in  the  group  of  palm  trees,  planted 
by  the  Fathers.  Hence,  in  the  time  of  great  danger,  the  padres 
could  enter  the  passage,  leap  across  the  well  and  escape  by  the  exit 
at  a considerable  distance  from  the  mission.  The  mission  at  an  early 
date  was  destroyed  and  several  of  the  Fathers  escaped  by  this  means.” 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  San  Diego  Tunnel.  Notwithstanding  the 
minute  description  and  explanation,  it  is  all  pure  fiction.  Not  the 
slightest  historical  evidence  can  be  adduced  that  such  a tunnel  ever 
existed  at  Mission  San  Diego  or  at  any  other  of  the  old  California 
Missions.  In  fact,  there  was  no  need  for  any  such  underground  pas- 
sage. In  the  whole  mass  of  available  documents  no  mention  whatever 
is  made  that  a tunnel  was  built,  nor  is  there  the  faintest  allusion 
that  anything  of  the  kind  was  ever  contemplated.  During  thei*  more 
than  twelve  years  sojourn  at  Mission  San  Diego,  the  United  States 
soldiers  would  surely  have  made  excavations  and  discovered  the  tunnel, 
if  there  had  been  any  in  connection  with  the  buildings.  Furthermore, 
in  1775,  when  the  Mission  was  destroyed,  two  Fathers  were  living 
there.  One  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  while  the  other  escaped,  but 
not  through  any  tunnel,  as  the  reader  of  this  work  will  be  able  to 
explain  to  any  one  who  wishes  to  know  the  facts. 

The  well  or  cistern  at  the  foot  of  the  Mission  ruins,  which  arouses 
the  curiosity  of  visitors  (not  to  be  confounded  with  the  double  well 
farther  to  the  left),  probably  dates  back  no  farther  than  the  period 
of  1847-1858,  when  U.  S.  troops  were  quartered  in  the  buildings. 
There  is  a similar  well  or  cistern  at  some  distance  from  the  front 
wing  of  Mission  San  Luis  Bey.  The  soldiers  came  from  the  Eastern 
States  where  in  those  days  cisterns  for  collecting  fresh  water  were 
a common  institution,  so  to  speak,  and  where  waterworks  were  rather 
uncommon  facilities.  It  would  seem  that  the  soldiers  in  this  way 
provided  themselves  with  a supply  of  fresh  water  for  domestic  pur- 
poses from  the  river  before  it  ran  dry.  Inasmuch  as  only  the  two 
Missions  of  San  Diego  and  San  Luis  Bey  harbored  United  States 
troops  for  any  length  of  time,  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  two  wells 
or  cisterns  originated  with  them. 


INDEX 


A 

Aachil,  Indian  chief,  96 
Acevedo,  Vicente,  184 
Afanador,  Rev.  Jose  M.,  275 
Affection  for  the  Fathers,  188 
Agriculture,  120,  238,  240,  296 
Agua  Caliente,  200,  201,  279 
Ahumada,  Fr.  T.,  O.  P.,  161,  162 
Aim  of  Fathers,  303 
Alabado,  48,  49,  113,  131,  133 
Alarcon,  Franc.,  3;  Gaspar,  6 
Alcaldes,  Indian,  149 
Alemany,  Rt.  Rev.  J.  S.,  265 
Alert,  The,  242 
Allowance  to  the  Friars,  112 
Alvarado,  F.  M.,  243,  266 ; Juan, 
233,  239;  Joaquin,  137,  140 
Alvarez,  F.,  11 ; Juan,  62 
Amador,  Rosalio,  237 
Amurrio,  Fr.  Gregorio,  46,  68,  73, 
77,  79,  81,  128 
Andres,  Fr.  Guardian,  26 
Annual  Reports,  90-96,  106-113 
Anza,  Juan  B.,  69,  72 
Apolinario,  Fr.  M.,  O.  P.,  153 
Aqueduct,  109,  157-159,  165 
Arenal,  or  Isla  de  Arena,  6 
Argiiello,  Luis,  194,  205,  251; 

Santiago,  215,  229,  230,  234, 
242,  249,  254,  257,  258,  272 
Armenta,  Joaquin,  62 
Arrillaga,  Jose  Joaquin,  146,  154, 

155,  160,  164 
Arroyo,  Jose  Manuel,  85 
Ascension,  Fr.  Ant.  de  la,  6-8 
Asylum,  Church,  72-75 
Atole,  53,  127 

B 

Ballast  Point,  9,  176 
Bancroft,  H.  H.,  13.  39,  52,  53,  96, 
117,  157,  172,  177,  185,  215, 
254,  290,  301 

Bandini,  Juan,  230,  233,  242,  253, 
288 

Banning  Boarding  School,  334 
Banns,  Marriage,  140,  142 
Baptism,  Administration  of,  127- 
128 ; first  entry,  126 ; frus- 
trated, 30-31;  last,  255;  of 
whites,  137 ; banner  year,  148 
Baptismal  Register,  83,  84,  274, 
278-279 

Barona,  Fr.  Jose,  149,  153,  155, 

156,  159,  160,  274,  275,  287 
Bartlett,  J.  B.,  264,  268,  303,  305 
Bates,  F.  H.,  305 


Bells,  Mission,  307,  334 
Bishop,  First,  of  California,  242, 
244,  285;  his  retinue,  242-243 
Bishop  of  Sonora,  178,  179,  197, 
225 

Blake,  H.  A.,  305 
Bolton,  H.  E.,  5,  17,  25,  56 
Borica,  Diego,  148,  149,  150,  174, 
278 

Boscana,  Fr.  Geronimo,  160-163 

Boston,  Mass.,  281,  283,  284 

Botello,  Narciso,  251 

Brayton,  Colonel,  307 

Briones,  Marcos,  198 

Brown,  E.  L.,  262 

Bucareli,  Viceroy,  45,  80,  81 

Buelna,  Ramon,  142 

Building  Activities,  147,  151,  159 

Bula  Cruzada,  177 

Burton,  H.  S.,  305 

C 

Caballero,  Fr.  F.,  O.  P.,  279 
Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  3-5 
Cahuenga,  230 

Cambon,  Fr.  Pedro,  40,  42,  43 
Canby,  A.  R.  S.,  263 
Calvo,  Rev.  Jose  Joaquin,  179 
Camino  Real,  272 
Cape  San  Lucas,  14 
Carmel,  Our  Lady  of  Mt.,  25,  71 
Carranza,  Fr.  Domingo,  274 
Carrillo,  Carlos  A.,  248;  Domingo, 
163,  164,  284,  287 ; Jose  A.,  230, 
274;  Raymundo,  177,  387 
Carriso  Creek,  270 
Carvajal,  Gonzales,  178 
Castile,  Rose  of,  21 
Castro,  Jose,  233;  J.  M.,  137;  M. 

F.,  140  , 

Catalonian  Volunteers,  21,  31-32, 
165,  174,  175,  176 
Catechetical  Instruction,  130-133 
Cattle  Brand,  223 
Cavalier,  Fr.  Jose,  40 
Cemetery,  146-147,  288 
Cervantes,  Andres,  230 
Chapman,  C.  E.,  331,  332 
Chico,  Mariano,  248 
Cholos,  248 

Choquet,  Diego,  77,  78,  81 
Church  Asylum,  72-75 
Church  Goods,  107,  167 
Church,  New,  106-107,  160 
Clement  XIII,  Pope,  38 
Climate,  54-55 
Cobblestone  Point,  176 


Index 


3S3 


College,  San  Fernando,  13,  44,  49, 
69,  86,  99,  101,  144,  309 
Colonists,  69 

Colorado  River,  60,  199,  244,  289 
Columbus,  Christopher,  3 
Conause,  Fr.  Jose,  O.  P.,  153 
Concepcion,  The,  151,  176 
Confirmation,  First,  45,  118 
Convert,  First,  126 
Converts,  Indian,  49,  51,  197,  280 ; 

white,  281,  283 
Corrion,  Juan,  126 
Cosoy,  89 

Costanso.  Miguel,  10,  12,  13,  16, 

32,  138 

Council  of  the  Fathers,  44 

Couts,  W.  B.,  161 

Crespi,  Fr.  Juan,  13-19,  23,  26, 

33.  34,  37,  38,  43,  44,  86,  87, 
115,  309 

Croix,  Viceroy  de,  24,  40,  41 
Crossthwaite,  Philip,  262 
Cruzado,  Fr.  Ant.,  16,  17,  40 
Cyane,  The,  256 

D 

Dam,  Mission,  157,  298,  302 
Dana,  W.  G.,  283 
Davidson,  G.,  5 
Da, vis,  D.  C.,  257,  258 
Death  Register,  87,  288-289 
Demands  of  Governors,  194,  195 
Destruction  of  Mission,  59-70 
Detachment  of  friars,  124-125 ; 

difficulties  of,  127 
Dinner  of  Frenchman,  218 
Discovery,  The,  171,  185 
Distress  at  Mission,  42-43,  101 
Ditch.  Water,  109 
Doctrina  Christiana,  131-133 
Doctrinas,  106 
Dominguez,  Manuel,  281 
Dominican  Fathers,  87,  151 
Donativo,  War  Tax,  115 
Don  Quirote,  The,  248 
Drafts,  Worthless,  213 
Dreary  fife  at  nresidio,  175 
Dressmaking,  47 
Duell,  Prent,  350,  351 
Duhaut-Cilly,  A.,  215 
Dumetz,  Fr.  Francisco,  40-43,  86, 
89,  115.  137 
Dupont,  F.,  256 

Duran,  Fr.  Xarciso,  232,  234 

248,  281 

E 

Earthquake  at  Mission,  151 


Echeandia,  Jose  M.,  196,  205-207, 
209,  213,  314,  220,  224-231,  288 
Educational,  209-212,  332-334 
Eleuanan,  Santa  Isabel,  169,  170, 
199  200 

El  Cajon,  Santa  Monica,  198,  250 
Elections,  106,  149 
El  Paso,  Texas,  268 
Emancipation,  Indian,  207,  234 
Estorace,  Jorge,  10,  11 
Estudillo,  Jose  A.,  243,  257,  261; 

Jose  M.,  165,  190,  215,  255,  281 
Excommunication  Incurred,  74-76 
Expeditions,  3,  6,  9,  13,  17,  23,  39 
F 

Fages,  Pedro,  10-12,  16,  32,  38, 
40-42,  43-46,  52,  53,  80,  116, 
117,  120-123 
False  Bay,  272 
Fanega,  Spanish  bushel,  51 
Faura,  Fr.  Jose,  153 
Fernandez,  Jose,  225 ; Rev.  Agus- 
tin,  202,  205 

Fernando  VII,  King,  192 
Ferrelo,  Bartolome,  4 
Figuer,  Fr.  Juan,  55,  81,  96,  101, 
106,  107,  115,  118,  120.  128, 
134,  135,  142,  143-144,  156,  315- 
318 

Figueroa,  Jose,  231,  233,  235. 
Fitch,  Henry  D.,  283 
Fons,  Joseph,  165 
Font,  Fr.  Pedro,  69-72,  176-177 
Forbes,  Alexander,  188 
Ford,  H.  C.,  301,  305 
Foolish  Plan,  104 
Fortuni,  Fr.  Buenaventura,  237 
Fort  Yuma,  270 
Foundlings  arrive,  177 
Flogging,  Regulations,  165 
Flora,  The,  275- 
Franciscans  arrive.  39-40 
Fremont,  J.  C.,  256 
Foster,  Fr.  Vicente.  46,  59-68,  66, 
73-77,  81,  83-85,  89-92,  128,  130, 
• 136-140,  286 

G 

Galvez,  Jose  de,  9.  11.  15,  19,  23, 
36,  38,  44,  51.  313.  331 
Ganganelli,  Cardinal.  38 
Garden  products.  112 
Garrison,  San  Diego,  191 
Gavilan,  or  hawk  feast,  180 
Gil,  Raphael,  45,  95,  114,  137 
Gil,  Ricla,  emancipated,  213 
Gila  River,  285 


354 


Index 


Golden  Fleece,  The,  9 
Gomez,  Fr.  Francisco,  9,  10,  15, 
18,  23,  37,  38,  40,  86,  89,  126, 
138,  242,  312,  313 
Gomez,  Rev.  Miguel,  242 
Gongora,  J.  M.,  140 
Gonzalez,  Alejo  A.,  62 
Gonzalez,  Fr.  J.  M.,  262-264 
Grajera,  Antonio,  171,  174,  176 
Grape  Culture,  149,  154 
Greed  of  Indians,  25-27 
Gregory  XVI.  Pope,  242 
Guadalajara,  34,  85,  88 
Guadalupe,  Mexico,  201,  242 
Guards,  Mission,  133 
Guerra.  Jose  de  la,  177,  274,  277 
Guinn,  J.  M.,  331 
Gutierrez,  Eustaquia,  287 
Gutierrez,  Nicolas,  253 

H 

Halleck,  H.  W„  262,  264 
Hard  Labor,  Indians  at,  98 
Hardships  at  Mission.  42,  43 
Hartnell,  William.  239-241 
Harvard  University,  210 
Heintzelman,  S.  P.,  264 
Henriquez,  A.  D.,  147 
Herrera,  Jose  M.,  205 
Hidalgo  Revolt,  174 
Holbein,  Rev.  J.  C.,  290 
Horse  stealing,  184 
Hospitality  of  friars,  125-126,  219- 
220 

Humiliation  of  friars,  196 

I 

Independence,  Mexican,  202 
Indian  affection  for  Fathers,  188 ; 
battle,  27-28;  captured,  72;  con- 
verts, 49-50,  197;  malice,  164; 
rights,  226-227 ; suicide,  82 ; 
women,  21,  47 

Indians,  6-8,  12,  15,  21,  25,  26, 
70,  293;  origin,  habits  of,  179- 
184;  stubborn,  39 
Inventories,  235,  271,  335-344 
Tnterrogatorio.  178-184 
Isabella,  Bl.,  284 
Iturbide,  Augustin,  202,  205 

J 

Jackson,  Mrs.  H.  H.,  242 
Jamul,  226,  227 

Jayme,  Fr.  Luis,  40,  44,  46,  54-56, 
59-68,  71,  85,  86,  89,  128,  156, 
163,  309,  314,  315 
Jimeno,  Manuel  Casarin,  277 


Jimeno,  Fr.  Antonio,  277 ; Fr. 

Jose  Joaquin,  259,  262,  277 
Joseph,  Maria,  killed,  28 
Juncosa,  Fr.  Domingo,  40 

K 

Kearny,  General  S.  W.,  256 
L 

Laguna  de  Agua  Caliente,  222 
Land  Commission,  265 ; grants, 
265-267 

Land  of  Sunshine,  135,  170 
Lands  of  Mission,  46,  221-223 ; 
coveted,  206,  226 ; extent,  204 ; 
restored  to  Church,  344-348 
Language  of  Indians,  179 
La  Punta,  279 
Las  Flores,  254 

Lasuen,  Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de, 
46,  68,  73,  77,  79,  96,  98,  99, 
101-104,  106,  107,  115-118,  120, 
134,  137,  142-147,  149,  155,  278, 
288 

Latitude,  San  Diego,  6 
Lazaro,  Fr.  N.,  157,  291.  321,  322 
Lelia  Byrd,  The,  176 
Leo  XII,  Pope,  225 
Letter  from  Bucareli,  80;  Fr. 
Jayme,  54-56;  Fr.  Lasuen.  115- 
116;  Fr.  Palou,  49;  Fr.  Serra, 
97-98,  102,  113-115 
Library,  93,  94,  107 
Lima  University,  210 
List  of  Fathers,  324-327 
Live  stock,  91,  203,  216,  223-224, 
299-300 

Location,  Geographical,  202-203 
Lopez,  Fr.  Miguel,  O.  P.,  153 
Lopez,  Fr.  Ramon,  O.  P.,  153 
Loriente,  Fr.  Jose,  O.  P..  153 
Lorenzana,  Apolinaria,  259,  281 
Loreto,  Lower  Cal.,  116,  118,  136, 
142,  154,  155,  230 
Los  Angeles,  117,  196,  205,  231, 
238,  247,  250,  253,  256,  272, 
306 

M 

Maddox,  Lt.,  256 
Magruder,  J.  B.,  265,  303 
Mansilla,  Fr.  Tomas,  O.  P.,  226 
Manso,  Juan,  271 
Manteca,  192 

Mariner,  Fr.  Juan,  120,  147,  149, 
150,  153,  156,  288,  319-320 
Marriage  Register,  138,  286-289 
Marriages  of  whites,  140-141 


Index  355 


Martin, 

Fr. 

Fernando, 

160, 

161, 

165, 

169, 

184, 

202, 

205, 

206, 

208, 

213, 

214, 

216, 

218, 

224, 

226-227,  231,  232,  235,  237,  240, 
277-280,  283,  284,  288-290,  291, 
323-324 

Martinez,  Ignacio,  163 
Martyrdom  of  Fr.  Jayme,  59-68 
Mason,  R.  B.,  261,  262,  264,  266 
Mass,  Holy,  on  board,  9,  10 
Massacre  by  Yumas,  246 
McLaughlin,  James,  292,  293 
Mechanical  arts,  147,  293,  296 
Memorias,  57,  90,  93,  111,  185 
Menendez,  Fr.  Antonio,  O.  P.,  214, 
224,  225,  279,  281,  283 
Mercurio,  The,  275 
Micheltorena,  Manuel,  247,  248 
Miguel,  mayordomo,  184 
Missionaries  hampered,  123 
Missionary  stipend,  112,  301 
Mission  moved,  56 ; rancherias, 

349- 350 ; registers  destroyed, 
83;  restoration,  77-78;  tales, 

350- 351 

Mofras,  M.  Duflot  de,  132,  243, 
244,  254 

Monterey,  14,  23,  36,  40,  45,  52, 
68,  86,  98,  118,  256,  287 
Mora,  Rt.  Rev.  Francis,  306 
Moran,  Fr.  Juan,  38 
Moreno,  J.  M.,  250 
Mormon  Volunteers,  257-258 
Mugartegui,  Fr.  Pablo,  45,  52,  81, 
114 

Murguia,  Fr.  Jose  Ant.,  46,  47 
Muro,  Fr.  Miguel,  242 
Music  at  Mission,  296-297 

N 

Xavarrete,  Martin  F.,  5 
Nazario,  Indian  cook,  163 
Neve,  Felipe  de,  101,  103,  104, 
108,  113,  114,  117 
Nipaguav,  56,  89,  90,  118,  142, 
178,  198 

Xoriega,  Fr.  Matms,  115 
Xota  Previa,  85-88 

O 

Oath  declined,  205-206 
Object  of  Fathers,  303 
Old  Town  San  Diego,  25,  243, 
256,  272,  306 

Obva,  Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual,  206, 
208,  213,  216,  218,  224,  231, 
237,  239,  241,  244,  248,  250, 


255,  258,  271,  278-281,  283-285, 
289-290 

Ord,  E.  O.  C.,  263,  264,  272 
Ortega,  Jose  Francisco  de,  38,  45- 
47,  68,  71,  96,  97,  114,  115,  136, 
137,  288 

Ortega,  Jose  Joaquin,  117,  140, 
235,  237,  239,  241,  284 
Osuna,  Juan,  240 

P 

Pacheco,  Romualdo,  205,  288 
Padron,  83,  93,  106 
Paisanos  and  Education,  174 
Pala,  San  Antonio  de,  201,  238 
Pallas,  Fr.  Cajetano,  O.  P.,  153 
Palou,  Fr.  Francisco,  15,  18,  23, 
24,  26,  27,  29,  30,  33,  39,  42,  43, 
46,  47,  49-51,  56,  59-68,  80,  87, 
120,  128 

Pamo,  96,  98,  198,  222 
Panella,  Fr.  Jose,  149,  150,  153, 
155,  274,  321 

Panto,  Fr.  Pedro,  160,  163,  164, 
274,  275,  291,  322-323 
Paterna,  Fr.  Antonio,  40,  41,  126 
Parron,  Fr.  Fernando,  10,  11,  13, 
15,  16,  18,  19,  25,  27,  37,  38,  40, 
86,  87,  89 

Pater  Noster,  Indian,  132-133 
Patron  Saints,  130 
Pattie,  James,  220-221 ; Silvester, 
220 

Payeras,  Fr.  Mariano,  156,  168, 
191,  194,  195,  198-202,  274 
Pedrorena,  M.,  250,  251,  272 
Peguero,  Alonso,  6 
Pena,  Fr.  Tomas  de  la,  46,  86 
Pena,  Cosme,  238 
Penasquito  rancho,  266 
Perez,  Juan,  9,  10,  11,  18,  19,  23, 
37,  43 

Peyri,  Fr.  Antonio,  205 
Pico,  A.,  271 ; J„  140,  246.  287 
Pico.  Pio,  165,  166.  230,  231,  233, 
243,  248,  249,  250,  254.  257, 
258,  272,  287 

Picture  attracts  Indians,  29 
Pieras,  Fr.  Miguel,  40 
Pilar,  Opr- Lady  of,  47,  90 
Pineda.  Fr.  Jose  de,  O.  P.,  277 
Pious  Fund,  213 
Pocahontas,  The,  230 
Point  Guijarros,  9,  10,  49,  171, 
176,  185’ 

Point  Loma,  6,  176 
Poor  Clares,  210 


356 


Index 


Pope  Clement  XIII,  38;  Gregory 
XVI,  242;  Leo  XII,  225;  Pius 
VIII,  225 

Population,  177,  203,  229 
Portilla,  Pablo,  205,  230 
Portola,  Gaspar  de,  17,  24,  32,  34, 
36,  37,  38,  39,  50 
Pozole,  53,  91,  127 
Pozolero,  91 

Prat,  Dr.  Pedro,  11,  24,  28,  31,  38 
Presidio  forces,  117 
Prestamero,  Fr.  Juan,  46 
Priestly,  H.  G.,  332 
Princesa,  The,  278 
Principe,  PI,  14 
Proxy,  Marriage  by,  140 
Punta  de  los  Muertos,  13 
Purisima  Concepcion,  164 

R 

Ramirez,  J.  M.,  230 
Ramona,  novel,  240 
Ramos,  Fr.  Juan,  21 
Rancherias,  229,  244,  349,  350 
Registers  destroyed,  83 
Reglamento  of  Figueroa,  231-232 
Reports,  Annual,  145 ; Biennial, 
146;  of  1822,  202-205;  of  1827, 
221-224;  of  Fr.  Serra,  56-58; 
last,  232-233 ; tabular,  249-295, 
299,  300-301 

Representacion  of  Fr.  Serra,  44- 
45,  53 

Respuesta,  178-184 
Restoration  movement,  306 
Retreat  for  friars,  159 
Reyes,  Manuel,  12 
Riley,  Bennet,  264 
Riobo,  Fr.  Juan  G.,  120,  318,  319 
Rincon,  47,  49,  54 
Rio  Colorado  corn,  112 
Rio  San  Diego,  13,  298 
Rivera  y Moncada,  Fernando  de, 
13,  14,  21,  33,  39,  40,  41,  52,  60, 
68,  69,  73-76,  78-81,  137,  138, 
142 

Robinson,  Alfred,  125,  186-187, 

219,  241,  242,  247 
Roca,  Jose,  177,  275 
Rocha,  Juan  Estevan,  62,  205; 

Juan  Jose,  230,  235 
Rodriguez,  Manuel,  150,  155,  176, 
177 

Romero,  Jose,  68;  Felipe,  140 
Eosalinda,  The,  242 
Rouset,  Rt.  Rev.  Francisco,  225 
Routine  at  Mission,  150-151 


Ruiz,  Francisco  M.,  161,  177,  185, 
215,  227 
Russians,  9 

S 

Sacrifices  for  education,  212 
St.  Joseph,  23,  34,  36 
St.  Martin’s  Day,  6 
Sal,  Hermenegildo,  275 
Salaries  of  soldiers,  45 
Salazar,  Lt.,  252 
Sale  of  Mission,  250 
Salvierderra,  in  Ramona,  242 
San  Antonio  Mission,  43,  47,  69, 
112,  113,  148 

San  Antonio,  The,  9-14,  18,  23,  32, 
36-43,  52,  77,  79,  87 
San  Augustin,  Fla.  288 
San  Bernabe,  9 

San  Bernardo,  204,  222,  224,  244, 
254 

San  Bias,  15,  23,  39,  44,  51,  151, 
175 

San  Buenaventura  Mission,  37,  40, 
41,  44 

San  Carlos  Mission,  43,  44,  47,  49, 

68,  86,  95,  99,  115,  120,  169, 
172 

San  Carlos,  The,  9,  11,  14,  18,  23, 
24-27,  33-39,  43,  99,  275 
San  Diego  de  Alcala,  O.  F.  M. 

(St.  Didacus),  328-329 
San  Diego  discovered,  3;  named,  9 
San  Diego  Mission,  founded,  24, 
25;  described,  50;  moved,  56; 
school,  334 
San  Diego,  The,  6,  9 
San  Diego  Sun,  The,  306 
San  Diego  Union,  The,  161,  306, 
307 

San  Dieguito,  199,  222,  234,  240, 
244,  254,  272 

Sau  Felipe,  169,  199,  269,  275 
San  Fernando  College,  13,  44,  49, 

69,  86,  99,  101,  144,  309 

San  Fernando  Mission  de  Veli- 
cata,  14,  17,  21,  33,  80 
San  Francisco  Mission,  69,  81,  113 
San  Francisco  Solano,  site,  125 
San  Gabriel  Mission,  16,  40,  41, 
43,  71,  72,  81,  91,  94,  95,  98, 
100,  109,  112,  117,  148,  153, 
201,  205,  229-231 
San  Jacinto,  250,  251 
San  Jacome,  222 
San  Jose,  The,  18,  32,  38 
San  Jose  Valley,  200,  223,  224 


Index  357 


San  Juan  Capistrano  Mission,  68, 


71, 

81,  95,  96, 

100, 

112, 

116, 

117, 

120,  122, 

130, 

153, 

154, 

160, 

172,  175, 

191, 

222 

231, 

255, 

257,  259,  2 

172 

San  Juan  tie  Dios,  21 
San  Juan  el  Viejo,  134 
San  Luis  Obispo  Mission,  43,  47, 
86,  95,  147,  154 

San  Luis  Rey  Mission,  133,  135, 
153,  160,  161,  203,  205,  213, 
222,  229,  231,  244,  250,  257, 
272,  273,  284,  309,  333,  351 
San  Luis  Valley,  93,  113,  139 
San  Miguel  Island,  4 
San  Miguel  Mission,  Lower  Cal., 
142,  161,  177,  203 
San  Pedro  (Las  Flores),  254 
San  Pasqual,  244,  254,  269,  305 
San  Salvador,  The,  3,  4 
San  Vicente,  L.  Cal.,  153,  279 
Santo  Tomas,  Lower  Cal.,  6,  9, 
153 

Santa  Barbara  Mission,  117,  153, 
176,  177,  207;  presidio,  224, 
230,  243 

Santa  Clara  Mission,  81,  113,  242 
Santa  Gertrudis  Mission,  Lower 
Cal.,  126 

Santa  Isabel,  168-170,  198-204, 

214,  222,  238,  239,  241,  244, 
268,  269,  275-277,  279,  280,  284, 
289,  303 

Santa  Maria  Mission,  Lower  Cal., 
14,  88 

Santa  Monica,  198,  199,  214,  222, 
239,  240,  272 

Santa  Maria,  Fr.  Vicente  de,  77 
Sanchez,  Fr.  Francisco,  242,  285 
Sanchez,  Fr.  Jose  Bernardo,  157, 
.159-161,  165,  168-170,  184,  197, 
198,  201,  202,  205,  229,  274, 
275,  277,  278,  287 
Sanchez,  Manuel,  13 
Sandwich  Island,  275,  277,  285 
Sarria,  Fr.  Vicente  Francisco  de, 
160,  168,  209,  275,  277,  283 
Savage,  Thomas,  290 
Savages,  Subsistence  of,  51 
Sayal  Franciscano,  147 
Santiago,  The,  52 
School  at  presidio,  148,  225 
Schools,  Catholic,  332-334 
Scurvy-stricken,  10-13,  18 
Secularization  Decree  of  the  Cor- 
tes, 233;  of  Figueroa,  233-235, 


252 ; of  Mexican  Government, 
233 

Secularized,  Mission  San  Diego, 
235 

Sena,  Bernardino  de,  149 
Senan,  Fr.  Jose,  179 
Sepulveda,  F.  X.,  137 
Serra,  Fr.  Junipero,  16-22,  27-38, 
40-46,  51-58,  68,  69,  71,  76-85, 
87,  88,  97-104,  113-120,  126,  137, 
138,  142,  143,  107,  265,  288,  292, 
306,  331-332 

Sierra  Gorda  Missions,  16,  24 
Silly  Tale,  161 
Silvas,  Jose  Manuel,  198 
Simplicity  of  Indians,  129 
Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  210 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  334 
Sitjar,  Fr.  Buenaventura,  40 
Situation  at  San  Diego  Mission, 
103,  120-122 
Smallpox,  221 

Smythe,  W.  E.,  161,  162,  165,  186, 
188,  190,  206-207,  209-212,  220- 
221,  227,  249-251,  253,  266,  292, 
293,  303,  332-334 
Soledad,  244,  268,  305 
Sola,  Pablo  Vicente,  168,  185,  192, 
194,  197,  205 

Soldiers,  252;  demands  of,  190- 
192 ; deserted,  41 ; laziness  of, 
173 

Somera,  Fr.  Angel,  40,  41,  71 
Sponsors  at  Baptism,  136-137 
Stevenson,  J.  D.,  257,  258,  261, 
262,  266,  272 

Stipend,  Missionary,  112,  301 
Stockton,  R.  F.,  256,  257 
Students,  Ecclesiastical,  243 
Supplies  for  presidios,  175 
Surroca,  Fr.  Eudaldo,  O.  P.,  153 

T 

Tale,  Silly,  161 
Tapia,  Carlos,  88 
Tapis,  Fr.  Estevan,  159,  163,  164 
Temple,  Jonathan,  283 
Teplc,  23,  85,  112,  151,  312 
Tia  Juana  (Tiguana),  279 
Torquemada,  Fr.  Juan  de,  6,  9 
Torrent,  Fr.  Hilario,  120,  137, 
140,  149,  278,  320-321 
Traveler,  The,  185 
Tres  Reyes,  The,  6,  9 
Troops,  U.  S.,  at  Mission,  305 
Tucson  presidio,  Ariz.,  171 
Tunnel,  Mythical,  350-351 


358 


Index 


Tyler,  Sergeant,  258 
U 

Ubach,  Rev.  Antonio,  290,  306, 
307,  344 

Urselino,  Jose,  85,  89 
Uson,  Fr.  Ramon,  55 

Y 

Valenzuela,  J.  S.,  142 
Vallejo,  Ignacio,  287 
Vallejo,  Mariano,  233,  287 
Vancouver,  George,  171-175,  176 
Vargas,  Manuel  de,  148 
Vegerano,  Jose  M.,  88 
Venadito,  Count  de,  192,  193 
Verdugo,  J.  M.,  140;  Manuel,  243 
Verger,  Fr.  Raphael,  101,  102 
Victoria,  Manuel,  230,  248 
Vila,  Vicente,  9-11,  13,  19,  23,  33, 
37-39 

Vila,  Rev.  Jayme,  290 


Vizcaino,  Fr.  Juan,  9,  10,  12,  15, 
16,  18,  25,  27,  28,  33,  86,  313 
Vizcaino,  Sebastian,  6-9,  176 
Vow  to  Blessed  Virgin,  66 

W 

Wealth  of  Missions,  195,  301 
Wells  at  Mission,  351 
Weaving  at  Mission,  147 
Wine,  Mission,  149,  154,  192-193 
Women,  Indian,  21,  47 

Y 

Yorba,  J.  A.,  254 

Yuma  City,  285 

Yumas,  246,  280,  281,  285,  301 

Z 

Zalvidea,  Fr.  Jose  Maria,  205 
Zamorano,  A.,  205,  214,  231,  288 
Zuniga,  Jose  de,  117,  171 
Zuniga  Point,  176;  shoals,  176 
Zuniga,  Viceroy,  176 


LAUS  DEO 

(Distance  to  next  Mission  H3y£  leagues) 


Supplement  to 

SAN  DIEGO  MISSION  HISTORY 


IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION 
PARISH 


Old  ^ own  San  Diego 


N DECEMBER  22,  1924,  His  Lordship,  Rt.  Rev.  John 
Joseph  Cantwell,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Los  Angeles  and  San 
Diego,  California,  in  accord  with  the  Diocesan  Consultors,  of- 
fered the  mission  station  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  at  Old 
Town  San  Diego,  attended  from  La  Jolla,  to  the  Very  Rev.  Fr. 
Turibius  Deaver,  O.F.M.,  Provincial  of  the  Franciscan  Province 
of  Santa  Barbara.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Provincial  Councillors, 
held  at  Santa  Barbara  on  December  30,  1924,  the  Very  Rev.  Fr. 
Provincial  presiding,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  accept  the  of- 
fer of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop.  It  was  further  decreed  to  establish  a 
Franciscan  convent  adjoining  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Old  Town,  and  to  place  in 
charge  the  Rev.  Fr.  Philip  la  Vies,  O.  F.  M.,  of  Santa  Barbara, 
as  the  first  rector  of  the  new  parish.  The  formal  transfer  took 
place  at  the  Diocesan  Council  held  at  Los  Angeles  on  January 
29,  1925.  On  Septuagesima  Sunday,  February  8,  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  took  possession  and  held  the  first  Divine  Service. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Sons  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  re- 
turned to  the  scene  of  their  early  activities  after  an  interval  of 
seventy-nine  years.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  could  not  have  surprised 
the  successors  of  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  and  the  Franciscans  of  the 
early  days  more  agreeably  than  by  inviting  them  to  resume  the 
missionary  activities  where  Fr.  Vicente  Pasqual  Oliva,  O.  F.  M., 
had  reluctantly  ceased  them  in  June,  1846,  for  there  is  not  in  all 
California  a spot  around  which  cluster  the  memories  of  so  many 
and  of  such  important  events  as  around  what  is  called  Old  Town 
San  Diego.  The  very  history  of  all  religious,  civil  and  military 
operations  began  right  here. 

It  was  here  that  the  first  white  men,  the  noble  Captain  Juan 
Rodriguez  Cabrillo  and  his  heroic  crew  landed  from  the  two 
ships  San  Salvador  and  Victoria  on  September  28,  1542,  only 
fifty  years,  to  the  day  almost,  after  that  other  intrepid  navigator, 
Christopher  Columbus,  had  gone  ashore  at  San  Salvador  on  the 
other  side  of  the  continent  of  America. 

It  was  here,  too,  that  another  daring  Spanish  navigator,  Cap- 
tain Sebastian  Vizcaino,  with  the  three  ships  San  Diego , Santo 
Tomas  and  Tres  Reyes  entered  the  harbor,  and  anchored  opposite 


Mission  San  Diego 


3 


the  site  of  Old  Town  on  November  10,  1602*  Here,  two  days 
later,  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Didacus,  O.  F.  M.,  or  San  Diego, 
Vizcaino  with  three  Carmelite  Fathers  and  some  officers,  accom- 
panied by  their  men,  stepped  ashore.  In  a tent  quickly  prepared 
for  the  purpose  the  three  Carmelites  on  the  same  day  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  California  offered  up  holy  Mass  in  thanks- 
giving for  their  safe  arrival.  The  details  of  the  memorable  event 
will  be  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  San  Diego  Mission.  Cabrillo 
had  named  the  harbor  for  the  great  St.  Michael,  the  Archangel, 
on  the  eve  of  whose  day  he  had  discovered  the  now  famous  port ; 
but  Vizcaino  named  it  San  Diego  for  the  saint  on  whose  feast  he 
had  gone  ashore  at  Old  Town. 

For  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  the  waters  of  San  Diego 
Bay  were  not  again  troubled  by  white  men.  Then  events  began 
to  crowd  one  another  at  the  site  of  Old  Town.  Spain  claimed 
the  whole  western  coast  by  right  of  discovery.  In  1768  she  began 
to  make  preparations  to  occupy  it  lest  another  nation  take  pos- 
session. Two  expeditions  by  land  and  two  by  sea  were  sent  north- 
ward from  Lower  California  in  order  to  establish  a military  fort 
at  San  Diego  Bay  and  another  at  the  Bay  of  Monterey.  For  the 
purpose  of  winning  the  natives  and  inducing  them  to  accept 
Christianity  and  civilization,  the  King  of  Spain  selected  Spanish 
Franciscans,  and  directed  them  to  found  mission  centers  among 
the  Indians  under  the  protection  of  the  military  forts. 

The  first  sea  expedition,  consisting  of  the  transport  San  Antonio 
in  command  of  Captain  Juan  Perez  and  accompanied  by  the  two 
Franciscans  Fr.  Juan  Vizcaino  and  Fr.  Francisco  Gomez,  reached 
the  port  of  San  Diego  on  April  11,  1769,  and  anchored  in  sight 
of  what  is  called  Old  Town  San  Diego. 

The  second  vessel,  commanded  by  Captain  Vicente  Vila,  and 
having  on  board  as  chaplain  the  Franciscan  Fr.  Fernando  Parron, 
entered  the  harbor  on  Saturday,  April  29.  Next  day  holy  Mass 
was  celebrated  aboard.  On  Monday,  May  1,  Don  Pedro  Fages 
subsequently  second  governor  of  California,  with  some  officers 
and  men,  accompanied  by  Fathers  Vizcaino  and  Gomez,  went 
ashore  at  Old  Town  to  search  for  fresh  water.  These  two  friars 
were,  therefore,  the  first  Franciscans  that  landed  in  Upper  Cali- 
fornia; but  they  still  celebrated  holy  Mass  aboard  ship. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  wholesome  water,  suitable  food  and  medi- 


4 


Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


cines,  most  of  the  sailors  and  one-half  of  the  soldiers  fell  victims 
to  the  scourge  of  the  ocean,  the  scurvy.  All  were  buried  along  the 
sandy  beach  of  Old  Town. 

On  Pentecost  Sunday  afternoon,  May  14,  1769,  the  first  land 
expedition  under  Captain  Fernando  Rivera  arrived  from  Lower 
California.  With  him  came  Fr.  Juan  Crespi,  a pupil  of  Fr. 
Junipero  Serra.  Next  day,  Pentecost  Monday,  a day  of  obligation 
with  the  Spaniards,  Fr.  Crespi  celebrated  the  first  holy  Mass  in  a 
tent  of  the  camp  which  had  been  pitched  on  or  near  the  site  of 
the  present  brick  church.  He  was  therefore  the  first  Franciscan 
who  offered  up  the  Holy  Sacrifice  in  this  locality. 

The  second  land  expedition  in  charge  of  Captain  Gaspar  de 
Portola  was  welcomed  at  the  camp  on  Saturday,  July  1.  With 
this  main  body  came  the  famous  Fr.  Junipero  Serra,  the  Superior 
of  the  missionaries;  Portola  on  nearing  the  bay  had  hastened 
ahead  with  a few  men  and  had  arrived  on  June  29th.  Next  day, 
July  2,  a Sunday  and  the  feast  of  the  Visitation  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  Fr.  Presidente  Serra,  assisted  by  the  Fathers  named,  here 
celebrated  the  first  High  Mass  in  California.  On  the  Monday 
following  he  wrote  his  first  letter  to  his  beloved  disciple  Fr. 
Francisco  Palou  in  Lower  California,  dating  it  “from  the  port 
and  proposed  Mission  of  San  Diego. ” 

From  the  camp  of  Old  Town,  on  July  14,  Portola,  accom- 
panied by  Fathers  Crespi  and  Gomez,  led  a land  expedition  north- 
ward in  search  of  Monterey  Bay.  Two  days  later,  July  16,  the 
feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  Fr.  Presidente  Serra,  as- 
sisted by  Fathers  Parron  and  Vizcaino,  planted  the  Cross  which 
was  to  mark  the  site  of  the  Mission  and  Presidio  on  the  bluff 
overlooking  the  valley  and  the  harbor,  and  thus  established  the 
first  Indian  Mission,  the  Mother  of  all  the  Missions  in  Califor- 
nia, under  the  patronage  of  San  Diego. 

There,  within  the  stockade  which  enclosed  the  temporary 
chapel  and  barracks,  in  a hut  of  palisades  lived  Fr.  Serra  with 
Fathers  Parron  and  Vizcaino.  For  eleven  months  they  en- 
deavored in  vain  to  win  the  savages  for  Christianity.  The  kind- 
ness of  Fr.  Serra  himself  failed  to  secure  a single  convert.  The 
Indians  proved  the  most  stubborn  encountered  anywhere  in  the 
United  States.  More  than  that,  they  were  hostile,  and  only  one 
month  after  raising  the  Cross  openly  attacked  the  flimsy  fort.  In 


Mission  San  Diego 


5 


this  first  battle  between  Spaniards  and  the  savages  of  California 
for  the  first  time  the  Indians  learned  that  the  firearms  of  the 
white  men  reached  farther  and  with  more  deadly  effect  than  their 
own  poisoned  arrows,  of  which  one  killed  a servant  of  Fr.  Serra 
and  inflicted  a dangerous  wound  on  the  hand  of  Fr.  Vizcaino. 
The  Indian  loss  in  dead  and  wounded  was  so  great  that  the 
savages  thereafter  never  again  attacked  the  Spaniards. 

It  was  here,  too,  that  Fr.  Serra,  through  his  ardent  prayers,  as 
all  conceded,  saved  California  from  being  abandoned.  Captain 
Portola’s  expedition  on  January  24,  1770,  returned  without  hav- 
ing discovered  the  Bay  of  Monterey.  The  packetboat  had  not 
appeared  with  supplies  and  provisions  in  the  camp  were  running 
low.  Disheartened,  Portola  determined  to  abandon  California  if 
by  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  March  19,  the  San  Antonio  failed  tc 
arrive.  Fr.  Serra  with  Fr.  Crespi  was  as  firmly  resolved  not  to 
leave,  but  to  stay  behind  alone  even  if  all  departed.  A public 
novena  was  held,  but  by  the  last  day,  March  19,  the  transport 
had  not  arrived.  Everything  was  then  packed  up  to  be  ready  for 
the  march  on  the  next  morning.  Sick  at  heart,  Fr.  Serra  continued 
pleading  with  Heaven,  and  just  as  the  shades  of  evening  were 
spreading  over  the  bay  the  shout  of  Ship!  Ship!  arose  from  the 
bluff.  Only  a glimpse  of  the  vessel  had  been  afforded  the  watchers 
as  it  passed  the  entrance  to  the  bay.  That  sufficed  to  cause  Por- 
tola to  order  the  packing  to  cease.  A few  days  later  the  San 
Antonio  indeed  entered  the  bay. 

Portola  on  April  17,  1770,  at  the  head  of  another  expedition, 
accompanied  by  Fr.  Crespi,  set  out  from  Old  Town  for  a second 
time  in  search  of  Monterey.  Fr.  Serra  for  the  same  purpose  took 
passage  in  the  San  Antonio  on  April  16th.  Both  expeditions 
reached  Monterey  Bay,  and  there  Fr.  Serra,  on  June  3,  1770, 
founded  the  second  Mission  in  honor  of  San  Carlos  Borromeo. 

The  Mission  founded  by  Fr.  Serra  near  the  presidio  on  the 
bluff  continued  there  till  the  month  of  August,  1774,  when  it  was 
moved  two  leagues  up  the  San  Diego  River.  During  the  five 
years  and  a month  that  it  was  in  operation  the  Fathers  baptized 
over  one  hundred  Indians,  ninety-seven  of  whom  made  their  home 
at  the  Mission. 

On  account  of  difficulties  with  the  military  commander,  Don 
Pedro  Fages,  Fr.  Serra  on  October  22,  1772,  sailed  from  Old 


6 


Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


Town  for  Mexico  in  order  to  place  his  case  before  the  viceroy. 
He  returned  hither  on  March  13,  1774,  with  the  authoritative 
declaration  of  the  viceroy  that  the  missionaries  with  regard  to 
their  converts  held  the  position  of  fathers  to  their  children,  and 
possessed  all  the  rights  and  duties  of  such.  This  put  an  end  to 
further  interference  from  military  or  civil  officials. 

After  the  Indian  revolt  and  the  murder  of  Fr.  Luis  Jaume  at 
the  Mission  up  the  river  on  November  4,  1775,  Fr.  Vicente 
Fuster,  the  surviving  missionary,  with  the  converts  moved  to  the 
presidio  at  Old  Town.  The  Mission  existed  here  for  thirteen 
months  till  December,  1776,  when  all  returned  to  the  restored 
Mission. 

While  Fr.  Fuster  stayed  at  the  presidio,  Fr.  Fermin  de  Lasuen 
and  Fr.  Gregorio  Amurrio  joined  him,  and  all  celebrated  holy 
Mass  in  a warehouse  which  had  been  transformed  into  a chapel. 
A neophyte  culprit  on  one  occasion  had  taken  refuge  in  the  chapel, 
where,  according  to  Spanish  laws,  he  was  immune  until  certain 
formalities  had  been  observed.  Captain  Rivera  refused  to  abide 
by  the  said  laws,  and  with  his  own  hands  dragged  the  Indian 
from  the  chapel.  On  the  following  feastday,  which  happened  to 
be  the  feast  of  the  Seven  Sorrows  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  March 
27,  1775,  when  all  the  faithful  had  assembled  for  holy  Mass, 
Fr.  Lasuen,  the  celebrant,  turned  to  the  people,  and  announced 
that,  since  the  commander  had  incurred  excommunication  by  vio- 
lating Church  Asylum,  the  holy  Mass  could  not  be  offered  up  in 
his  presence.  He  would  have  to  withdraw  or  there  would  be  no 
holy  Mass.  Rivera  with  his  abettors  thereupon  retired,  and  Fr. 
Lasuen  continued  the  divine  service.  It  was  the  only  case  of  public 
excommunication  in  the  whole  history  of  California. 

An  incident  of  note  was  the  appearance  in  the  harbor  of  the 
first  British  vessel  in  command  of  Captain  George  Vancouver  on 
November  27,  1793.  This  non-Catholic  officer  expressed  himself 
highly  pleased  with  the  character  and  activities  of  the  missionaries, 
and  before  sailing  he  presented  Fr.  Lasuen  with  a barrel  organ, 
the  first  in  California. 

The  first  Mexican  governor,  after  the  declaration  of  Mexican 
Independence,  Jose  M.  Echeandia,  arrived  at  Old  Town  toward 
the  end  of  October,  1825,  and  made  it  his  permanent  residence. 

In  1828,  the  presidio  people  obtained  their  first  resident  pastor 


Mission  San  Diego 


7 


in  the  person  of  the  Dominican  Father  Antonio  Menendez.  Dur- 
ing the  short  time  of  his  stay  he  also  taught  school  for  eighteen 
children  of  soldiers  and  settlers  in  the  town  which  had  sprung  up 
below  the  presidio.  For  this  service  he  received  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  dollars  a month. 

The  first  school,  however,  was  opened  at  the  presidio  by  order 
of  Governor  Diego  Borica  in  September,  1795.  A retired  sergeant 
named  Manuel  Vargas  conducted  the  school  at  a salary  of  $100 
provided  by  the  parents  of  twenty-two  pupils. 

A great  honor  was  bestowed  on  San  Diego,  as  Old  Town  was 
called  everywhere,  when  Pope  Gregory  XVI  made  it  the  Seat  of 
the  first  Bishop  of  California.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Francisco 
Garcia  Diego,  O.  F.  M.,  arrived  here  in  December,  1841,  and 
with  his  retinue  was  assigned  apartments  at  the  Juan  Bandini 
home.  With  him  came  Fr.  Francisco  Sanchez,  the  Father  Salva- 
diera  in  Helen  Hunt  Jackson’s  Ramona.  He  administered  Con- 
firmation to  125  persons.  On  December  19,  1841,  the  Bishop, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  whole  West  Coast,  con- 
ferred sacred  Orders  on  a few  students  whom  he  had  brought 
along  from  Mexico.  As  the  accommodations  at  the  little  town  of 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls  were  unsuitable,  Bishop  Diego, 
after  one  month,  transferred  his  residence  to  Old  Mission  Santa 
Barbara. 

The  next  most  notable  event  was  the  arrival  in  the  harbor  of 
the  U.  S.  warship  Cyane,  which  cast  its  anchor  in  the  sight  of 
Old  Town  on  July  29,  1846.  Lieutenant  Maddox  in  a boat  ac- 
companied by  marines  went  ashore  here,  proceeded  to  the  plaza, 
raised  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  thus  took  possession.  Close  by  a 
military  camp  and  fort  were  established. 

In  July,  1849,  the  little  town  received  its  first  resident  pastor 
in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  Holbein,  C.  SS.  CC.,  who  re- 
mained till  September,  1854.  He  laid  the  cornerstone  for  the  old 
adobe  church  on  September  29,  1851.  He  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Pedro  Bagaria.  He  in  turn  was  relieved  by  the  Rev.  John 
Molinier,  who  served  from  1857  to  1863.  On  November  21, 
1858,  Father  Molinier  dedicated  the  now  completed  church  un- 
der the  title  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, 
under  which  title  the  Mother  of  God  was  the  Patron  of  the 
Franciscan  Order  from  its  beginning.  A few  years  later  the  walls 


8 


Missions  and  Missionaries  of  California 


were  weatherboarded.  After  Molinier  the  energetic  Rev.  Antonio 
Ubach  began  his  long  administration  as  pastor  of  Old  Town.  He 
undertook  to  build  a brick  church.  The  cornerstone  was  laid  by 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Thaddeus  Amat,  C.  M.,  Bishop  of  Monterey,  on 
July  10,  1868,  ninety-nine  years  after  Fr.  Serra  planted  the 
Cross  in  the  vicinity.  At  the  beginning  of  1867  not  a house  as 
yet  stood  where  the  great  city  of  San  Diego  now  spreads  itself. 
Then  a boom  set  in  for  the  New  San  Diego,  so  that  Father 
Ubach  was  compelled  to  cease  work  on  the  brick  church,  the 
walls  of  which  had  already  gone  up  several  feet.  Father  Ubach 
continued  at  Old  Town  until  the  year  1885,  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  at  St.  Joseph’s  Church,  New  San  Diego.  From  that 
date  on  Old  Town  has  had  no  resident  pastor,  but  was  occasion- 
ally attended  from  the  parish  church  of  New  San  Diego.  The 
Rev.  Joseph  Mesny  was  in  charge  since  the  year  1906,  but  lived 
at  La  Jolla.  By  1914  more  people  had  erected  their  homes  above 
and  below  the  bluff,  wherefore  the  Father  thought  it  time  to 
carry  out  Father  Ubach’s  plan.  He  had  the  brick  walls,  which 
for  sixty-seven  years  had  been  exposed  to  all  kinds  of  weather, 
taken  down,  and  then  began  to  build  the  church  on  the  old,  solid 
foundations.  Miss  Margaret  McGregor,  a Scotch  lady,  generous- 
ly provided  the  means  from  the  sale  of  her  eighty-five  lots  at 
Ocean  Beach.  This  noble  gift  completed  the  edifice.  Father 
Mesny  would  not  contract  debts  to  procure  an  altar,  etc.,  for  the 
interior,  and  so  contented  himself  with  continuing  at  the  old 
adobe  church  for  three  years.  M iss  Ellen  Scripps,  a non-Catholic 
lady  of  La  Jolla,  then  offered  to  donate  $1000  for  the  completion 
of  the  interior.  With  this  liberal  donation  and  other  contribu- 
tions the  altar  and  all  the  furnishings  needed  were  procured.  On 
July  22,  1917,  the  church  was  opened  for  Divine  Service,  and  on 
July  6,  1919,  the  solemn  dedication  took  place  at  the  hands  of  His 
Lordship,  Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  Cantwell,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Los 
Angeles  and  San  Diego.  On  the  same  occasion  eighty-three  adults 
and  children  were  confirmed. 

Father  Mesney  surrendered  the  pretty  Church  and  the  Parish 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  at  Old  Town  to  the  Sons  of  St. 
Francis  with  the  happy  satisfaction  that  it  has  no  debts. 


Date  Due 


1 

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A l2^A  ZlsJ  S 

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’cmrs 

7 

PR  ^0  1998 

SWT 

2 b'  1999 

MA\  2 6 

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BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3 9031  01617110 


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